Championing Bedouin Women's Health

Dr.  ‎Samira Alfayumi-Zeadna is a social epidemiologist at the Center for Women's Health Studies and Promotion at BGU’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her master’s and doctoral research dealt with the mental health of women, specifically during pregnancy and after giving birth. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna’s work highlights the impact of the grim statistics on the Negev’s Bedouin population – from socio-economic status and housing, to education and employment – and how these affect the mental and physical wellbeing of its women.

“In my research I examined for the first time the prevalence of postpartum depression among Bedouin women and was astonished by the results: about a third experience postpartum depression.”

In response to these findings, she established, together with her colleagues at BGU’s Center for Women's Health Studies and Promotion, a “mother-to-mother” program tailored specifically to Bedouin women. One of the main goals of this program, providing volunteer peer support for mothers of infants, is preventing and alleviating postpartum anxiety and depression.

Her most recent study highlights a worrying rise in symptoms of depression during pregnancy and after birth among both Jewish and Arab women as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna was born and raised in Abu Talul, about 15 km southeast of Beer-Sheva. The town of about 4,000 residents still suffers from severe neglect and a lack of basic infrastructure. Her elementary school was situated in a prefabricated building with an asbestos roof that had no heating or air-conditioning and wasn’t even connected to the electric grid. Attending high school was even more of a challenge: “Every morning we walked for several kilometers to the bus stop on the main road. The bus then took us to Ar'arat an-Naqab, where we went to school,” she recounted. 

Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna completed all three of her degrees at BGU and worked as a nurse while pursuing her graduate degrees. This is when she became aware, she says, of “significant health disparities between the [Negev’s] Jewish and Arab populations” and decided to do something about it. She found the differences in living standards between the Negev’s unrecognized settlements and places like Lehavim, where she now lives, to be almost incomprehensible.

She explains: “Over the years I became increasingly aware of the socio-economic divide between Israel’s Jewish and Arab populations. It’s impossible to ignore the difference in socio-political status and the discrimination against minorities. This is why I really wanted to combine clinical work with research by studying public health, a medical field that deals with prevention of disease and promotion of physical and mental health, as well as social welfare.”

We asked Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna to tell us about the obstacles and challenges she faced during her studies.  “My first year at university was particularly challenging,” she recounted. “I experienced language problems, economic hardship, and social difficulties. My struggle with the language certainly affected my grades and achievements; I had to work harder than others, but the hard work paid off. Over time, my grades improved, and this allowed me to realize my plans.”

The support she found at BGU played an important role in Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna’s eventual accomplishments. “Starting from the Medical Cadets program founded by Prof. Riad Agbaria that was my entry into the world of academia, through tuition support during my undergraduate studies and a Zin fellowship for outstanding doctoral students, BGU contributed a lot to my success.”

And now that she has completed her PhD, life has not become easier. “I split my time between my academic work, parenting, and family obligations. I have four daughters, the oldest of whom is in high school and the youngest is four years old.  All my accomplishments are thanks in large part to the unstinting support of my parents. They encouraged me to excel in my studies, knowing that higher education is the best way out of the hardships experienced by Bedouins in the Negev’s unrecognized townships. My husband’s support, both personal and professional, was also crucial to my success.”

And what advice would you offer Bedouin doctoral students following in your footsteps?

“Believe in yourselves,” says Dr. Alfayumi-Zeadna, “and don’t be afraid of dreaming big. Each and every one of you has potential. All you have to do is believe that it’s possible. Obviously, graduate studies are challenging and require hard work, but you can do it. What’s important is to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not, then focus only on what’s most important during your doctoral studies.”

Adapted from an article in issue 133 of Aleph-Bet-Gimmel, the University’s Hebrew language magazine. For the original article.