Algeria from Within/Chapter 11

Having now cast a cursory glance over the life of the Arab man, let us look into the inner life of the homestead—that is to say, the life of the women, of the children, and of the servants. Placing them in the same category does not in the least suggest that the Arab woman is in any way a slave. Far from it. This is quite a fallacy, which must be added to the list of legends to be dispelled in this book.

With the exception of the Kabyles, the women in Algeria have almost as many rights as the men. They are, of course, not nearly so free as European women, and they are often obliged to share the home with other wives, but, as they have been brought up to know no other mode of living, they do not wish for anything else.

We will take as an example the life of an Arab girl belonging to a respectable family of moderate means. The daughters of the family when little girls will help their mother in the household duties, accompany her when she goes out, learn to cook and to weave and all the duties of a good housewife. Sometimes they are sent to the convent of the White Sisters, where they earn a little money and are taught to make carpets on regular lines. The Sisters will give them a rudimentary education, but it will only take the form of lectures on morality and hygiene. It is very, very rare to find an Arab girl who can read or write. As soon as she reaches a marriageable age offers will ​be made to her father by the fathers of eligible young men, and if any union seems opportune terms will be discussed.

Apart from guaranteeing the bride a home, with enough to live on, it is usual for the bridegroom's parents to pay a sum down and for the bridegroom to give his bride a trousseau, while she in return will bring a dowry of a few household goods and golden jewelry—family heirlooms, which may be of great value. When all is arranged the date of the marriage is fixed, and up to the actual first contact bride and bridegroom will not see each other. The young man. however often sends his female relatives to inspect the young woman and to report on her appearance. The wedding lasts for seven days and is conducted at the girl's home and at the man's. For a week the bride's mother will entertain all her friends and the friends of her daughter, while the bridegroom is giving parties to his companions. After the formality of going to the kadi the husband has access to the bride. She is brought to his house and let into a room where he is hiding behind the curtains or under the bed. When she is alone he suddenly leaps out and seizes her. This is the first time they meet face to face.

After a quarter of an hour or so an old woman comes in, makes an examination, and informs the assembled guests that the marriage has been consummated, and cries of joy are uttered and the newly married couple separate. It is not until the end of the feast that the husband and wife live entirely together. Once she is with her husband she sets about making his home comfortable. If they are well off she will keep a female servant to do all the rough work such as sweeping and polishing, but the preparing of the meal is always done by her. The food is carried by her ​ to her husband, and he eats alone. She has her meals apart or with the other wives.

In the case where a man is already married the new wife, though she may be the husband’s favorite, will take a secondary place with the other wives, who will give her all the odd jobs to do. If she is tactful she will be nice to them, and if she is clever she will get her husband into her hands and make him dispose of the other wives. As a matter of fact, this sort of intrigue is getting rare. In the first place, polygamy is on the decline; this is due partly to the contact of soldiers with the European method of living during the war, and partly from reasons of economy. In cases where the first wife is getting old—and Arab women get old very quickly—she is often glad to have a young wife as a help.

In the homes of well-to-do Arabs the women are kept under lock and key, and they practically never go out for a walk. They will be taken for drives in closed carriages or motors, and occasionally they will pay visits at nights to their women friends, but they go heavily veiled and accompanied by many attendants. Once a week they go to the Turkish bath, and once a week to the cemetery. Sometimes among the poorer class the women are forced to go out to do their shopping, but they are veiled from head to foot, and even this is rare, as the husband usually does the marketing on his way to and from work.

All this caution, however, does not prevent intrigue and infidelity, which is facilitated by old women and friends. A visit to another girl is arranged, the visit is made, but there is another exit, and the woman goes to see her lover. Unfortunately this is also becoming common among unmarried girls who escape the supervision of their parents.

However, in really good families the women are ​ usually straight, and they know, moreover, how to keep their husbands. In fact, the wife is very much the mistress in her own home, and she lets her man have just enough liberty and no more.

The laws of divorce are very broad, and are on an equality for men and for women. The first case for separation is that of the couple who, after three days. of marriage, go before the kadi and ask for their release, because they realize that they can't stand the sight of each other. In this case they each take back what they gave and return to their respective homes free, and shortly marry again.

The other main bases for divorce are the same as in Europe, but there are also excuses which make things much easier than with us. For instance, if a woman complains that her husband is out every night and does not come home till midnight or so, the kadi will pronounce the necessary decree. In this case the wife keeps all the man has given her, and he also pays the eleven francs which is the fee for dissolution of marriage. A man gets his divorce at once if he finds. that his bride is not the pure jeune fille he supposed her to be. This entails many complications and family feuds, but, as it is hard to prove, it is usually allowed to go by. There are cases of divorce after long years of marriage, and there are cases of the reunion of divorced parties who have lived separated for long.

The main point to realize is the facility of getting judicially separated, and the fact that the woman has just as many rights as the man.

Of course the life the wife leads if she is humble and docile is not very amusing. In addition to cooking she must weave burnouses and carpets, either for the home or, if they are poor, for sale, and the man, having the position of lord and master before the world, takes ​ advantage of his wife’s docility if he can. But then this happens in Europe! As a matter of fact, the Arab man is not a bully, and one notices that whenever he goes to the sheep and cattle markets he always buys something for his wife, and with his children he is very kind and thoughtful. The wives of the nomads lead very much the same life as their sisters in the towns, the only difference being that they do not veil themselves when out in the plain. It is not permitted for a woman to go to the mosque, and it is unusual for them to say their prayers—in fact, their ignorance of anything outside the homestead is complete. It is perhaps because of this that they make good wives and do not hanker after the supposed joys of the great world. There is one flaw in all this peaceful life, and that is the state of widowhood. When the husband dies the woman has nothing, unless she has been allowed to put money aside herself or has property of her own. She may be the wife of a marabout or of an agha—the moment she is a widow she loses all her status. There are three alternatives open to her. The first is to go on living with her sons, if they are big enough to keep her; the second to return to her family or to that of her husband, if they are alive and willing; or thirdly, to marry again. In well-to-do families the first two alternatives are the most followed, but the third is not common, as, though, curiously enough, a man will marry a divorced girl, he rarely mates himself with a widow. Of course, if the woman has independent means it is a different story; but this is rare, and if none of the above openings are possible her fate is very sad. A lone woman is regarded as having no position, and ​she must at once make one for herself. Here again she has three further alternatives: to enter the local zaouia, where she practically becomes the slave of the marabout and lives the rest of her life weaving and working in this kind of convent; or, if she prefers it, she can become a servant; or, as a last resource, enter the ranks of the dancing-girls in the reserved quarter. In fact, if she has no occupation and no house of her own, the French authorities force her to take up her residence in that special part of the town. But, except in these particular cases, the Arab woman is not the bond-slave of the man, and I have no doubt that the majority are much happier than many European wives. It is, of course, very difficult to get any definite information about all this, as it is against the laws of etiquette to mention Arab women to their men. The above facts have been gathered by little bits of talk here and there with intimate friends, who have now and then voluntarily unburdened their hearts, by talks to some of the rare few of the older generation who have traveled a great deal and who don't mind airing their views, and by actual contact with respectable married women. Of this the less said the better, as such meetings were strictly against all the laws of propriety, and were contrived by friendly intrigues.

Secrecy about the womenfolk is so great that the stranger is not even allowed to hear the sound of their voices, and I have stayed with an Arab chief for a week, where we were eighteen to dinner every night, and where there must have been twenty women and as many children in the same house, and I never heard a sound which suggested female presence. Even in the Sahara, where the women are only divided from the men by a rug hung across the center of the tent, I have passed the night, and only realized that women ​were present when a child cried and its mother hushed it.

Some Arab chiefs allow European women to visit their wives, but it is not very interesting. They can’t speak a word of French, and they sit staring at the visitor with curious eyes, and touch her clothes to see how they are woven and put on. Occasionally one meets with women who have been to Europe, but, with few exceptions, they regret their ventures and are glad to return.

There is one famous case of an Arab girl who drifted away from the South, crossed the sea, and eventually found herself in Paris, where she started dancing. She had an instantaneous success, and in a short time had visited London and New York, acclaimed wherever she went. It would be too long to go into all her adventures—suffice it to say that she was courted by all, that she met all kinds of interesting people; dressed in the smartest frocks, and lived on a lavish scale. One day she returned to Laghouat and she remained six months; during those six months she lived again as an Arab, then she went back to Paris, but it was too late. The South had seized her, her people had clutched her heart again, and she could no longer keep away.

She returned to her home in the oasis. Nothing will now make her return to Europe, and she says that the only possible life for a woman is to be married to a nice Arab and shut up. The last time I saw her she was sitting on the floor of a roughly furnished room, barefooted, eating kouskous with her hands out of the same bowl with her servants!