A gender-based language disparity in a conservative society? The case of Siwi.

Siwi is the easternmost variety of Berber and is spoken in the Siwa oasis in Egypt. This paper specifically focuses on the oral production of women. The women of Siwa live in a highly conservative society and have minimal contact with men not belonging to their family. But they are also part of a society which, because of close contact with outside communities (primarily Arabic-speaking ones), is modernising at a very fast pace and losing much of its unique traditional culture. The paper will address whether given the rapid loss of the unique attributes of their traditional society, does it still make sense to talk about the disparity between men and women in terms of linguistics and cultural knowledge?