33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

Produced by Euro-CIDES -FR- CAPTIVE/ JUST/2015/RDAP/AG/VICT/9243 Gender and Family relations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPiibywRH4A ( Nomadic women) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309359594_Refugee_women_in_the_Sahrawi_c amps_towards_gender_equality ( Refugee women in the Sahrawi camps: towards gender equality) Polisario has attempted to modernize the camps' society, through emphasis on education, eradication of tribalism and emancipation of women. The role of Sahrawi women was central already in pre-colonial and colonial life but was strengthened further during the war years (1975 – 1991), when Sahrawi women ran most of the camps' administration, while the men were fighting at the front. This together with literacy- and professional education classes produced major advances in the role of women in Sahrawi society. The return of large numbers of Sahrawi men since the cease fire in 1991 may have slowed this development according to some observers, but women still run a majority of the camps' administration, and the Sahrawi women's union UNMS is very active in promoting their role. Refugee camps are typically perceived as militarized and patriarchal spaces, and yet the Sahrawi refugee camps and their inhabitants have consistently been represented as ideal in nature: uniquely secular and democratic spaces and characterized by gender equality. Wedding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZbph-kBvrI ( Sahrawi women | Nomads of the Sahara) When a young Sahrawi man decides to get married, he informs his family, especially his mother who undertakes to inform his father, for it is unseemly, in the eyes of the Sahrawis, for a young man to directly inform his father of his matrimonial intentions. A Sahrawi father is expected to receive “the glad tidings” of his son’s intentions, through the mediation of one of the family members or one of his close friends. In spite of the fact that it is allowed by the Shari'a, polygamy is a forbidden practice in Sahrawi culture. Divorce In the provinces of the south, divorce is considered an ordinary event if it is the result of the mutual will of both parties and occurs in accordance with Islamic law. When the Sahrawi woman divorces, her family and close relatives organize a great occasion in sign of support. The ceremony of divorce has been proposed as an example of World Cultural Heritage since it’s unique in the world.