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Matrons and mistresses: women and boundaries in two Middle Eastern tribal societies

Archives Europeennes de Sociologie21 • Published In 1980 • Pages: 59-79

By: Lindisfarne, Nancy, Tapper, Nancy.

Abstract
This is a comparative study of the status of women among the Durrani Pashtun of north-central Afghanistan and the Shahsevan of north-western Iran. The author discusses the similarities in the status of women in these two societies as it relates to the control of economic and political resources and the differences in the status of women as it relates to the degree of sexual segregation, the character of marriage transactions and the importance of marriage in economic and political affairs, and in the ideals held by men and women about the roles and character of women. The author suggests that the differences in women's status in these two groups is linked to each group's experience of ethnic boundaries and intra-ethnic group hierarchy and authority.
Subjects
Gender status
Social relationships and groups
Basis of marriage
Regulation of marriage
Tribe and nation
Comparative evidence
Status, role, and prestige
culture
Pashtun
HRAF PubDate
2002
Region
Asia
Sub Region
Central Asia
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Gerald Reid ; 1988
Field Date
1971-1972
Coverage Date
1971-1972
Coverage Place
Durrani Pashtuns, north-central Afghanistan
Notes
Nancy Tapper
Information on the Shahsevan has been indexed for Comparative Evidence (171).
Includes bibliographical references (p. 79)
LCCN
64027672
LCSH
Pushtuns