Male Wives and Female Husbands

Abstract

The Tablighi Jamaʻat—a transnational Islamic missionary movement that propagates greater religious devotion and observance in The Gambia—opens the door to a new experience of gendered Muslim piety.Tablighor Islamic missionary work results in novel roles for women, who are now actively involved in the public sphere—a domain usually defined as male. To provide their wives with more time to engage intabligh, Tablighi men share the domestic workload, although this is generally considered ‘women’s work’ in Gambian society. Contrary to the conventional approach in scholarship on gender and Islam to study such inversion of gender roles in terms of Muslim women’s ‘empowerment’ and Muslim men’s ‘emancipation’, in the Gambian branch of the Jamaʻat the reconfiguration of gender norms seems to be motivated by Tablighis’ wish to return to the purported origins of Islam. Following the example of the Prophet’s wives, Tablighi women actively engage intablighand, taking Muhammad as their example, Tablighi men have taken over part of their wives’ household chores. Paradoxically, by reconfiguring gender norms Gambian Tablighis eventually reinstate the patriarchal gender order.

Gender Construct for Sustainable Development in Pakistan: Evaluating Alignment of Education System with the Religious Ideology

“…(Sahih al-Bukhari (676)). Similar trends were seen in the study based on Islamic-preaching households in the Gambia: if a woman engages in outdoor activities (preaching), their male partner does the household chores [50]. Therefore, men's contributions to household chores are valued from an Islamic (religious) point of view, which cannot be seen in the education system of Pakistan.…”

Fikih Pakaian Jamaah Tabligh: Antara Doktrin, Identitas, Dan Strategi

“…Program ini diadakan untuk mendidik istri-istri para penggerak Jamaah Tabligh yang aktif untuk saling mendukung program-program individu dan program keluarga di rumah masing-masing. Salah satu ketentuan dalam program masturah ini adalah, semua wanita yang ikut harus menggunakan kerudung besar dan bercadar berwarna gelap dengan dalih menutup aurat secara sempurna (Janson, 2016).…”

“…Dalam program Masthurah, terdapat agenda untuk menghadirkan wanita di sekitar rumah yang dijadikan tempat melaksanakan program Masthurah, dalam bahasa sederhana, agenda ini semacam "pengajian ibu-ibu" yang bisa dihadiri para wanita baik dari kalangan Jamaah Tabligh maupun non Jamaah Tabligh. Namun pada praktiknya, seluruh wanita yang mengikuti program Khuruj Masthurah diwajibkan mengenakan cadar ketika proses perpindahan selama perjalanan (Janson, 2016). Ajakan ini (menutup aurat wanita secara sempurna menggunakan cadar) tersirat dengan jelas melalui suasana dan pola pemahaman yang dibentuk dalam berbagai agenda yang melibatkan Jamaah Tabligh dari kalangan perempuan (Nisa 2014).…”

The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society

“…Third, by foregrounding how ideals of masculinity tangibly shape social encounters, the question of performance keeps both micro-level and macro-level dynamics in view. Consider for instance Marloes Janson's (2016) research in the Gambia with members of the Tablighi Jama'at, an Islamic missionary movement. Janson describes how, during Tablighi missionary tours, husbands are encouraged to take on household chores and childcare so that their wives can undertake missionary work.…”