Al Azoul tradition in the countryside of Al-M’ghelsa, An anthropological approach

Abstract

Al Azoul is one of the practices known in the Al-M’ghelsa countryside, a female-only activity through which women seek to achieve financial independence from the prevailing male dominance in rural societies. Al Azoul is a type of strategy that women have developed in order to be able to make their own decisions regarding the fulfillment of their own desires without external interference, from taking care of their families to innovating methods to diversify their income sources that guarantee them self-sufficiency and well-being. Women in Al-M’ghelsa take Al Azoul tradition as a source of material and social security to support their families. They spare no effort or knowledge in manual activities and raising small animals to reach the point of collecting enough money to invest in livestock. They buy one or two sheep or goats and integrate them with the family's herd. The animals reproduce and her capital grows, giving her a position within the family and enabling her to assume a social position in making her own decisions.