Norig Neveu

 

 

This documentary is all about the village of al-'araq, south of the town of Karak. The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), established in 1967, contributed to the making of this film. The Fund's main objectives (reproductive health, population, development and gender equality) are clear in the subjects covered by this document. The documentary is structured round interviews with residents, mostly women, who talk about their way of life in this rural village in southern Jordan. The documentary typifies an ethnographic approach with older customs, focusing mainly on rural culture or less privileged people. The trend towards traditional customs developed during the 1960's among Jordan's urban elite. At that time, the young independent state had a specific interest in history and local crafts (Maffi, 2004).

 

The documentary spotlights the way of life in al-araq (hospitality, marriage, work), emphasising the village's rural nature. It is in a rugged, difficult region near the Dead Sea. The population is organized according along tribal lines, maintaining the importance of the organization of social relations and management of hospitality (Jungen, 2009). Some of the people interviewed in the documentary work in the public sector (the military, education) though farming has a fundamental place in most of the interviews. With the Jordan Valley, the Karak region is one of the most important in the kingdom in terms of agricultural production. This activity is concentrated on the plains of Karak, where fruits, cereals and olives are the important products. In the region of al-araq agricultural activity is based on livestock, mainly goats and the cultivation of olives and fruit.

 

In this documentary particular attention is paid to the condition of women. Thus we see that, like most Jordanian women, the women of al-araq are not paid for their work. Nevertheless they are active in agricultural work (harvesting crops, making butter). The political, economic and social participation of women in Jordan is a paradox. Indeed, in 1996, the country could boast of having the highest female literacy rate in the region. However at the same time only between 12.5% and 16% of women over 15 years worked. It was mainly young women (between 20 and 29 years) who worked in the public sector (Roussillon and Zryouil, 2006). The film shows the monarchy's desire to promote the rights of women, mainly through royal NGOs, but also their role as a guarantee of continuity at a local level.

 

Riccardo Bocco et Géraldine Chatelard, Jordanie : le royaume frontière,  Paris, Autrement, 2001.

Christine Jungen, Politique de l’hospitalité en dans le sud jordanien, Clamecy, Karthala-Ifpo, 2009.

Irene Maffi, Pratique du patrimoine et politique de la mémoire en Jordanie. Entre histoire dynastique et récits communautaires, Dijon-Quetriny, Edition Payot Lausanne, 2004.

Alain Roussillon et Fatima-Zahra Zryouil, Etre femme en Egypte, au Maroc et en Jordanie, La Courneuve, Aux lieux d’être, 2006.