Abstract

This article uncovers the crisis of social reproduction in Occupied Palestine in the context of severe economic and political turmoil by specifically highlighting the ways in which impacts have been felt differently by men and women. It does so by considering the interactions of production and reproduction. The article confirms that, as a result of economic hardship, women, particularly married women, are increasingly participating in the formal and informal labor market. These women have been forced to renegotiate their domestic and caring responsibilities alongside paid work, within a context of very limited state or private sector provision of care services. While time-use survey findings suggest little change in men and women’s time-use between 1999/2000 and 2012/13 in general, qualitative interviews provide a more nuanced picture. Furthermore, the narrative that responsibility for managing care of children and elderly relatives as well as domestic work lies solely with the wife/mother is near universal. Respondents also did not voice demands for greater investment in child and elder care services by private firms or by the state, suggesting a strong individualization of responsibility for social reproduction in Occupied Palestine today. What remains to be seen is a) how representative these findings are for other groups, particularly poorer, rural families in Palestine and b) what the longer-term consequences of these changes might bring for societal gender norms in Palestine and in other contexts.

摘要

本文通过特别强调男性和女性对影响的不同感受方式，揭示了在严重的经济和政治动荡背景下被占领巴勒斯坦的社会再生产危机。它通过考虑生产和再生产的相互作用来做到这一点。文章证实，由于经济困难，妇女，尤其是已婚妇女越来越多地参与正规和非正规劳动力市场。在国家或私营部门提供的护理服务非常有限的情况下，这些妇女被迫重新协商她们的家庭和护理责任以及有偿工作。虽然时间使用调查结果表明 1999/2000 年和 2012/13 年期间男性和女性的时间使用总体上变化不大，但定性访谈提供了更细微的画面。此外，照顾孩子和年长亲属以及家务劳动完全由妻子/母亲承担的说法几乎是普遍存在的。受访者也没有表示要求私营公司或国家加大对儿童和老年护理服务的投资，这表明当今被占领巴勒斯坦的社会再生产责任高度个性化。仍有待观察的是 a) 这些发现对其他群体，尤其是巴勒斯坦较贫穷的农村家庭的代表性如何，以及 b) 这些变化的长期后果可能会给巴勒斯坦和其他情况下的社会性别规范带来什么。受访者也没有表示要求私营公司或国家加大对儿童和老年护理服务的投资，这表明当今被占领巴勒斯坦的社会再生产责任高度个性化。仍有待观察的是 a) 这些发现对其他群体，尤其是巴勒斯坦较贫穷的农村家庭的代表性如何，以及 b) 这些变化的长期后果可能会给巴勒斯坦和其他情况下的社会性别规范带来什么。受访者也没有表示要求私营公司或国家加大对儿童和老年护理服务的投资，这表明当今被占领巴勒斯坦的社会再生产责任高度个性化。仍有待观察的是 a) 这些发现对其他群体，尤其是巴勒斯坦较贫穷的农村家庭的代表性如何，以及 b) 这些变化的长期后果可能会给巴勒斯坦和其他情况下的社会性别规范带来什么。