Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen

Glossary

329 Glossary Terms are given with diacritical marks here, although these marks—other than ayn and hamza—do not appear in the main text. Words are listed according to the English alphabet . This list does not include all Arabic or non-English words used in this text. abaya: women’s overcoat ‘abīd: literally “slaves”; social category of people believed to be descendants of slaves adab: proper comportment, manners adabiyy, adabiyya: a person with manners ‘ādah, pl. ‘ādāt: custom ‘ādāt sayyi’āt: bad habits ‘ādāt sha’ina: customs that degrade ‘ādāt wa taqālīd: customs and traditions ahl: family akhdām, sing. khadim: literally “servants”; social category of people with despised origin akhlāq: manners ‘alaqa: mistress of zār ‘alēhu/‘alēhā akhlāq: person with good manners amthāl: proverbs aqārib: close kin ‘aqil: wise man ‘aql: sense, reason, rationality ‘ardh: honor asl: roots, origin ayah: Somali domestic aid ‘ayb: disgrace, shame al-‘ayn: evil eye badla dahab: wedding gold badu: pejorative name given to people from the countryside 330 | Glossary bakhūr: incense Bangala Shaytān: Free Masons’ house in Ma‘alla baraka: blessing, spiritual power basmala: invoking the formula bismillah al-rahmān al-rahīm (in the name of God, most gracious, most merciful) bass: route taxi bayt shar‘ī: sharia quarters; legal term for marital abode that corresponds to wife’s social standing bikr: virgin Bohoras: Shī‘a community, Musta‘ilī Ismā‘īlīs bulūgh: social maturity burr: wheat daf‘a: payment for marriage preparations dahbāsh: pejorative name given to northern Yemenis dar’a: women’s voile dress dhakar: male dharar: damage, cruelty dhikr: literally “remembrance”; Sufi ritual of recollecting the names of God dīn, dīnī: religion, religious fānūs: kerosene lantern fāsid: irregular marriage faskh: court dissolution of the marriage fātiha: opening sura of the Qur’ān fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence fuqahā’, sing. faqih: individuals learned in Islam futa: men’s loincloth or women’s underskirt gāhil, pl. guhhāl: ignorant person galabaya: cotton robe gālisa fi-lbeit: house-bound woman gandar: gender hadharī: city-dweller, civilized hāgg, hāgga: person who has performed the hajj to Mecca hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca hakam: arbitrator halwā: sweets hammam: bathroom, toilet haram: Islamically prohibited Glossary | 331 harim: women hijāb: religious headgear hirz: amulet hurra: free ‘īd: (Islamic) holiday ‘īd al-adha: feast of sacrifice, holiday following the hajj ‘iddat: the waiting period a woman has to observe after termination of marriage ijtihād: legal reasoning through which the jurist derives law on the basis of the Quran and Sunna ‘ilm: knowledge inhitāt al-mar’a: women’s inferiority imam: religious leader imāma: men’s turban iqtā‘, iqtā‘ī: feudal islah: reform Islah Party: Yemen Congregation for Reform Party Ithn’asharīs: Khoja community, Twelve Imam Shī‘as jabr: compulsion, compulsory marriage jebelis: “people of the mountains”; temporary workers who came to work in Aden from Kingdom of Yemen during the colonial era jins: gender, citizenship kafā’a: equity principle kāfirī: infidel kalam nās: people’s talk karāma: honor, respect, reputation khalas: finished, “that’s it” khātiba: bride searcher khīr: (Sindhi) milk, sweet almond milk khitān: women’s genital cutting Khojas: migrants from Sindh and Gujarat khubz: flat bread khul‘: women’s no-fault divorce with compensation to the husband khurāfa: superstition khutba: engagement kiswa: wedding trousseau; cloth that covers a wali’s grave kizb: lying koiffēr: beauty salon, hairdresser 332 | Glossary kufīyya: men’s scullcap kufu’: equal according to kafā’a principle lailat al-dukhla: the night following a wedding; penetration madā‘a: tall water pipe to smoke locally cultivated tobacco madhhab: Islamic law school ma’dhūn: marriage and divorce registrar maglis: living room mahr: wedding payment; women’s property that is due upon the signing of the marriage contract or deferred mahr mu’ajjal: deferred marriage payment mahr muqaddam or mahr mu‘ajjal: prompt marriage payment mā’ida: table, tablecloth makhdara: tentlike shelter erected outside the house mandīl: head scarf al-mar’a al-gadīda: the new Yemeni woman al-mar’a nusf al-mugtama‘: “womenare half the society” ma‘rifa: knowledge mashayikh: plural of shaykh, social category of people with noble descent maskin, pl. masākin: dwelling mat‘am: restaurant mawlīd: birthday, saint’s day celebration mu’addab, mu’addaba: person...