"They felt I raped a role that was not supposed to be mine": First Woman Principal in a Bedouin Tribal Society

Women's entry into the public sphere in western countries, either in higher education or in employment, was accompanied by enormous struggles that were documented in feminist history (Littelfield, 1999). These struggles were a consequence of women's entrance into roles that until then had been male jobs only. That is why any entry by any woman from any society has been considered a challenge to the male status quo and to the existing social order (Charlton, 1999; Pascall & Cox, 1993).
These first women had difficulty being accepted into workplaces that were previously male domains only. Different perceptions of maleness and femaleness reproached these women with the view that it was not appropriate for them to work in public spaces. A woman who entered those spaces suffered from loneliness, disrespect, and lack of support from male colleagues, especially when the job had a higher status, such as administration (Gillet, 1987).