‘A woman here is not only a woman but both a woman and a man’: Egyptian Women’s Performative Strategies to Gain Power and Access Resources in Irrigated Agriculture

Abstract

This paper is concerned with women’s performance of masculinity or women who ‘behave as men’, in irrigated agriculture, by acting less feminine, confident and serious; resorting to physical aggression when needed; as well as carrying out dangerous tasks. These women own land in Egypt’s New lands. We argue that they do so in order to gain power and control over resources.