WOMEN IN THE ARABIC AND SPANISH SAYINGS

Abstract

In the present work we study the image of women both in Arabic proverbs and their equivalent in Spanish proverbs and we examine in detail the reflection of women in different phases of their life. The article begins by investigating the reaction that the family has with the arrival of a female baby. This reaction is very well expressed in some Arabic proverbs, in which we see reflected the pre-Islamic beliefs by which the family's preference for men over women prevails. This same idea can be found in Spanish sayings. Marriage, an important phase in a woman's life, is also investigated in this work and we see that the woman considers marriage a means to escape the injustice of the family, and the family sees it as a means to get rid of the daughters at certain times. The image of the woman as a wife is the most prominent image in the proverbs of both cultures, which is why it has also been addressed in this research.