Dyson and Moore (1983) suggest that regional
variation in women’s autonomy is related to kin-
ship systems of patrilineality and exogamous mar-
riage that differ systematically between the north
and south and influence all religious groups. These
differences result in women in the south being more
active outside the home while the pattern in the
north is one of confinement to the home with
women having very limited mobility. These under-
lying differences are importantly associated with
gendered notions of public space.Bibliography
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of the pilot time use survey in India and their main pol-
icy implications, 2000, <www.unescap.org/stat/meet/
timeuse/Programme.htm>.Sajeda AminSoutheast AsiaIslamic teachings on gender
roles
The conjugal relationship is marked by rights
and duties since Muslim marriage is a contract. By
Islamic law, a man is contractually obliged to pro-
vide lodging, clothing, food, and general care for
his wife according to his means: “Lodge them
where you are lodging, according to your means,
and do not press them, so as to straiten their cir-
cumstances...Let the man of plenty expend out
of his plenty. As for him whose provision is stinted
for him, let him expend of what God has given him.
God charges no one beyond his means. After diffi-
culty, God will soon grant relief” (Qur±àn 65: 5–6,
as cited in Ali 1977, 150). The rationale for a man’s
role as provider stems from the notion that he is
head of the family: “Men are the protectors and
maintainers of women, because God has made
some of them to excell others, and because they
support them from their means (Qur±àn 4: 34, as
cited in Khan 1995, 82).242 household division of labor
Should a man fail in his obligation (nafaqa), his
wife has the right to initiate a divorce. In the same
vein, the wife is bound by law to contribute to the
success and blissfulness of the marriage. Her role
includes managing the affairs of the household by
meeting her husband’s needs, nurturing the chil-
dren, and protecting the family property and name
(Ali 1977, 168–9), as shown by this Qur±ànic verse:
“The woman is the guardian of her husband’s home
and she is accountable for it” (Bukhari, Ía™ì™, as
cited in Khan 1995, 89).
Although tutoring the children in religious mat-
ters is regarded as a joint responsibility, the wife
may adopt a leading role (Roberts 1982, 116), as-
suming she spends more time at home. A Muslim
woman also understands that her husband has been
granted authority over her and that she is obliged to
obey him, failing which the division of labor in the
family is said to be meaningless (Khan 1995, 86).
Hence, it is the duty of men to support women,
implying that women need not work but rather
focus on the affairs of the household.
Although the wife is expected to manage the
hearth, she is not obliged to take on the role of food
provider; instead this task is regarded the marital
obligation of the husband who either carries out the
role himself or employs a cook. In the event a man
cannot afford to employ a cook, and his wife
decides to take on this task out of willingness
(ßadaqa), she stands to gain religious merit (pahala)
for this gracious act.Cultural notions of men’s and
women’s roles
In spite of Islamic teachings on gender roles in the
family, indigenous cultural ideologies persist across
Southeast Asia. Among Malays, tradition (adat)
dictates that women oversee the private domain
and its activities, while men dominate public activ-
ities. In rural Malaysia, a striking gender division of
labor is evident in families where women manage
the household, in contrast to men who were said to
have had “other things to do” (Firth 1966, 24–5,
Laderman 1984). Carsten (1987, 154) found a sim-
ilar separation of gender roles in Langkawi with
Malay women fostering kinship bonds within and
beyond the family. Men who were absent from the
house for a substantial part of the day were found
engaged in fishing, and activities in the local surau
(mosque) and village politics, and were frequently
seen in the village coffee-shops (Carsten 1995,
111).
But Southeast Asian women are not entirely
indifferent to engagement in the economic sphere to
supplement the household budget. Many are active