Empowering Bedouin Women Through Weaving

Sidreh is the only organization of its kind in Israel… working to educate and promote the rights of Bedouin women. Khadra El Saneh is the director of Sidreh.  El Saneh, the mother of four children, overcame initial opposition from the traditional elements in her community to set up a weaving center. The center now employs seventy local women who make rugs that sell in boutiques across Israel and are exported as far afield as New York and Tokyo.

Bedouin women are at the lowest level of employment in Israeli society; 90 percent of Bedouin women living in recognized villages are illiterate. In unrecognized villages, that number is more like 100 percent. If a woman has education and economic empowerment, she can take more control of her life, make decisions and be more useful to her society and her family.

In an effort to combat low literacy rates, Sidreh also runs courses teaching Arabic, Hebrew and English. Since it opened in 1998, 1,400 women have graduated from its literacy course. It also offers community services, like early childcare.

Sidreh’s weaving business was launched in 2007. The 70 women employed to spin wool, stitch and weave the rugs each earn on average 2,000 shekels ($586) a month. The organization is supported by a number of international and national aid agencies, including Oxfam.  It does not receive support from the State of Israel.

WomenTeachingWomen and Sidreh share the same mission. Both organizations are devoted to empowering women by providing them with the skills and opportunities to become economically self-sufficient.