Mobilty among Arab Women in Israel Tamar Keinan and Dorit Bar Editor: Tagreed Alahmad This report was published thanks to the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Mobility among Arab Women in Israel Authors: Tamar Keinan, Dorit Bar Editor: Tagreed Alahmad Translation: Ira Moskowitz Cover Design and Photograph: Jordan Dotan Editorial coordination: Hava Rubin Typesetting and production: Pardes Publishing House, 2007 With special thanks to Kate Jones for her help in enabling this publication. This report was published by Kayan as part of “Women Demand Mobility” project. It could not have been completed without the generous support of the following foundations: Hadassah Foundation, the New Israel Fund, C.F.D and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The information and views expressed in this document do not represent in any way the official position of the supporting foundations 118 Arlozorov St., Haifa 33276, Israel Tel.: 972-4-8641291, 8661890, Fax: 972-4-8629731 e-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.kayan.org.il Table of Contents The Aim of the Report 5 Executive Summary 5 Introduction 7 Part A: Background 8 1. Social exclusion 8 2. Women, participation in the workforce and mobility 9 3. Transportation – What is it and what is its role? 11 4. Communities in the survey 12 5. Transportation in the surveyed communities 16 6. Transportation in Israel: Declared policy and the existing situation 17 7. Models of transportation demand 21 Part B: Analysis of data, conclusions and recommendations 23 1. The Sample 23 2. Key findings 24 3. Analysis and Conclusions: Points of Strength and Weakness 26 4. Recommendations 28 Appendix A: Pilot Program in Mghar 31 Appendix B: Member of Knesset Dr. Dov Khanin’s Letter 34 Bibliography 37 Kayan ‒ Profile 39 Mobilty among Arab Women in Israel The Aim of the Report This report’s objective is to examine, for the first time, the issue of the mobility of Arab women in the Arab sector. The report presents the personal, political and socio-economic implications of the state of mobility and proposes practical ways to improve the situation. It is based on an in-depth survey conducted in the period between September 2005 and January 2006 in 11 Arab communities in the North and in the Triangle, the regions that contain the majority of the Arab population in Israel. Executive Summary Many activities that could have been conducted in the past by traveling on foot currently require transportation by vehicle. The existing means of transportation, the use of cars and public transport, provide little help for Arab women in Israel. In practice, they suffer from a double discrimination, as Arabs in Israel and as women in a traditional society. The service that they receive from the public transportation system in these villages is lacking: most of the bus lines do not enter the villages at all or enter the villages very infrequently. Social exclusion is a situation in which an individual or group is ostracized and pushed to the margins of society. Social exclusion derives from a lack of social justice and reflects the failure of the social, cultural and economic systems (including transportation systems) to incorporate groups within society. This situation cuts off the excluded individual or group from support systems that could provide them with the ability to cope. In addition to the exclusion of the Arab society in Israel as a whole, there is also the exclusion of women within this society. Despite the fact that some of the women have a driving license, the use of the family vehicle is determined by the men in the family, and the infrastructure in the community does not consider the needs of women. Kayan - Feminist Organization In advanced models of transportation planning, one can discern a reciprocal relationship between the demand for participation in activities, the quality of the public transportation system, travel time, car ownership and more. From this, one can deduce that a change in the transportation system, such as adding bus lines or train lines, can lead to an increase in the demand for activities by the excluded groups and an increase in the ability to access these activities. The rate of participation in the workforce among Arab women is low, standing at about 30% for women of ages 25 – 44, compared to about 80% of Jewish women of this age group. The improvement in the public transport system could lead to an increase in the number of Arab women participating in the workforce, which would empower them, enhance their status in society, and strengthen the economic situation of the Arab sector within Israeli society. In the “Mobility Patterns among Arab Women in the State of Israel” survey conducted in 11 Arab communities, 85% of the women declared that if there was public transportation within their community they would make use of it. In light of the fact that 70% of the women do not leave the village on their own, and most of the activities within the village are conducted without an escort, it is clear that the most urgent and fundamental change within the village must occur in the public transportation system. In order to provide efficient transportation within the village, the public must be involved in its planning, and it should be inexpensive, frequent and accessible to those with limitations. Clear information on locations and timetables should be available to every household. Our recommendations focus on a number of areas, each of which is critically important for change. Both, the attitude of the excluder and excluded within our society, must change for real improvements in the situation to occur. Therefore, it is important to change the outlook of the women themselves, as well as that of the decision makers at the national and municipal levels. Mobilty among Arab Women in Israel Introduction Patterns of mobility among women reflect their status as women in society and as citizens of the state. “Friends, I want to go out of the house and attend an empowerment workshop. I want to contribute to the empowerment of other women and to the society, but it is difficult for me to come. If there is no man - brother, father or husband to drive me, I have to go by foot for an hour!” said a woman participating in an activity group run by the Kayan organization in the village of Mghar after arriving late for a session. This statement encouraged us at Kayan to initiate a community project, “Women Demand Mobility,” which, with the women of Mghar began to operate public transportation initiatives in accordance with their needs. The initial survey conducted in 11 communities in the North and in the Northern Triangle examined the patterns of mobility among the women in these communities. In parts of the groups we worked with, women reported that they had never used public transportation; some of them had never traveled outside the village on their own. This situation constitutes a social and economic loss for all of the relevant parties: the women, the society, the Ministry of Transportation and the public transportation companies. To reverse this situation requires involving citizens, in this case women, in the planning and activation of public transport in Arab towns. This can only create a win-win situation. During the preparation of the report, a number of findings arose indicating that mobility is problematic in the Arab sector, especially among women. As this was the first attempt to make a report on this subject, we faced certain setbacks, such as a lack of information and clarity about the situation on both the research and institutional levels. The women who participated in the survey did not have much information about public transportation in their communities: routes, frequency, hours, and some of them were unaware that public transportation even existed in their communities. Kayan - Feminist Organization Part A: Background 1. Social exclusion In the past, women who went out to work did so on the borders of the village in the fields close to their homes. Today, employment is not only agricultural and it is often located outside of the village in nearby cities which requires the use of transportation. An increase in the mobility of men has led to a change in the structure of the village and has excluded women, who are no longer able to access places of employment, shopping and social exchange. Mobility via private vehicles or public transportation is available only in a limited way; the public transportation system in Arab communities is fundamentally deficient; the majority of the bus lines do not enter the villages; and the buses which do enter the villages do so very infrequently. Social exclusion occurs when an individual or group is pushed to the margins of society. It requires interpretation by those who are excluded, who perceive that their situation marginalizes or prevents their participation in society (Strier, Bar-Yosef, 2001). The traditional cultural-social system perpetuates the supremacy of men over women, so that the private realm belongs to the women and the public arena to the men. Social stereotypes perpetuate the allocation of roles and the withholding of opportunities from women. Since a person builds his/her self-image according to the open and implied messages he/she receives from society, a process of self- fulfilling prophecy is created (Espanioli, 2006). For a discriminatory situation to be defined as social exclusion, three conditions must exist simultaneously: 1) multiple dimensionality, 2) durability over time, 3) social cutoff and distance. By analyzing the survey findings, the issue of the social exclusion of Arab women will be examined. Mobilty among Arab Women in Israel 2.