When we think about religion and gender roles, we often assume that greater religiosity means more traditional—and therefore less egalitarian—households. But a groundbreaking new study from Malaysia turns this assumption on its head.
The research, published in SSM – Population Health, reveals that highly religious Muslim men actually contribute significantly more to housework and childcare than their less religious counterparts . This surprising finding challenges conventional wisdom about Islam and gender relations, suggesting that faith can be a progressive force for equality within the home.
The Numbers Tell a Story of Inequality
Before examining the role of religiosity, the study paints a stark picture of domestic inequality in Malaysian Muslim households. Among the 576 couples surveyed, Muslim women spend nearly double the time on housework compared to men—12 hours and 9 minutes weekly versus just 6 hours and 17 minutes . The childcare gap is even wider, with women dedicating 35 hours weekly compared to men’s 20 hours .
This pattern persists despite women’s increasing educational attainment and workforce participation. Muslim women in the study work approximately 32 hours per week in paid employment, while men work 49 hours . Yet women still bear the overwhelming burden of unpaid domestic labor.
The Religiosity Paradox
The study’s most striking finding concerns the relationship between religious devotion and domestic labor:
Men’s Religiosity: Positive Impact
When Muslim men score higher on measures of Islamic devotion—including frequency of prayer, attendance at religious services, and the importance of faith in daily life—they contribute more to housework (β = 1.34) and childcare (β = 1.26) . A highly religious Muslim man spends significantly more time helping at home than one with lower religious commitment.
Women’s Religiosity: Negative Impact
Conversely, when wives are more religious, men contribute less to housework (β = -1.25) and childcare (β = -0.95) . This suggests that religious women may internalize traditional gender expectations, viewing domestic work as primarily their responsibility, thereby reducing pressure on their husbands to participate.
Why Would Religion Encourage Men to Do More Housework?
The answer lies in Islamic teachings that emphasize mutual responsibility, cooperation, and kindness within marriage. The study’s author points to several key Islamic principles:
- The Prophet’s Example: Prophet Muhammad actively helped with household chores, preparing food, sewing clothes, and repairing shoes . He only stopped upon hearing the call to prayer. This example provides a powerful model for Muslim men to emulate.
- Quranic Verses on Cooperation: The Quran describes believers as “helpers, supporters, friends and protectors of one another” (Quran 9:71) . This mutual responsibility extends to domestic life.
- Spiritual Rewards: Islamic traditions teach that men who assist their wives with household chores receive blessings from Allah . This creates religious motivation for domestic participation.
- Complementarity, Not Hierarchy: While Islam assigns different roles to men and women, it emphasizes complementarity and shared responsibility within the family framework .
“Highly religious Muslim males tend to participate more in household chores and childcare,” the study concludes, “whereas less religious Muslim men tend to contribute less to these tasks, especially if their wives are more devout” .
Beyond Religion: Other Factors That Matter
While religiosity plays a significant role, the study identifies other important factors affecting domestic labor distribution:
Paid Work Hours : When wives work longer hours, men contribute more to housework (β = 0.15) and childcare (β = 0.13). However, when men work longer hours, their domestic contribution decreases (β = -0.17 for housework, -0.21 for childcare). This reflects the “time availability” perspective—the partner with more available time does more domestic work.
Relative Income : Muslim men contribute significantly more to childcare (21 percentage points) when their wives earn a larger share of household income . This suggests power dynamics influence domestic labor distribution.
Men’s Age : Older Muslim men spend less time on childcare compared to younger men (β = -0.37) . This may reflect generational shifts in attitudes toward fatherhood.
Interestingly, factors like education level, number of children, and women’s gender role ideology did not show significant effects in this study .
Implications for Gender Equality
These findings have profound implications for achieving gender equality in Muslim households:
Challenging Stereotypes: The study challenges the stereotype that Islam inherently oppresses women or reinforces patriarchal dominance. Instead, it demonstrates that religious devotion can actually promote more egalitarian domestic arrangements when it emphasizes mutual responsibility.
Achieving SDG 5.4: The research contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 5.4, which calls for recognizing and valuing unpaid domestic work through shared household responsibilities . Islamic religiosity, when properly understood and practiced, can help achieve this goal.
Modernization and Tradition: The findings suggest that traditional religious values can adapt to support more equitable household structures, helping Muslim couples navigate the tension between cultural expectations and modern economic realities.
The Malaysian Context
Malaysia provides a unique setting for this research. As an Islamic country where approximately two-thirds of the population identifies as Muslim, Islam significantly shapes gender expectations . The Malaysian Constitution defines Malays as Muslims by birth, creating a strong link between ethnicity, religion, and cultural identity.
Traditional gender roles in Malay Muslim households have often positioned men as primary breadwinners and women as responsible for domestic work . However, modernization, higher education for women, and economic demands are creating tension as women navigate traditional roles alongside paid employment . This study suggests that Islamic religiosity can help resolve these tensions by encouraging men to share domestic responsibilities.
Historical and Regional Comparisons
The findings align with research from other Muslim contexts. Studies in Turkey (Hatun, 2013) and China (Zang, 2012) similarly found that higher religiosity was associated with greater participation in household tasks . This suggests a consistent pattern across diverse Muslim communities.
However, the mechanism appears different from Christianity, where greater religiosity is often associated with more traditional gender roles and less male participation in housework (Gull & Geist, 2020; Ludwig, 2010; Voicu et al., 2009) . This contrast highlights how different religious traditions shape gendered expectations in distinct ways.
Limitations and Future Research
The study acknowledges several limitations:
- Proxy Reporting: Female participants provided information about their husbands’ time use, which may introduce inaccuracy, though this method is common in time-use research .
- Online Recruitment: The sample only included internet users, potentially excluding rural and older populations .
- Cross-Sectional Design: The study captures a snapshot in time, making it difficult to establish causality definitively .
Future research could address these limitations through diary-based time-use studies that capture both partners’ perspectives directly, longitudinal designs tracking changes over time, and qualitative research exploring how Muslim couples negotiate domestic responsibilities in practice.
Practical Implications
For policymakers and community leaders, the findings suggest several strategies:
Promoting Positive Religious Teachings: Imams and religious educators can emphasize Islamic teachings about cooperation and mutual responsibility in marriage, highlighting the Prophet’s example of domestic participation.
Supporting Women’s Employment: As more Muslim women enter the workforce, supporting men’s domestic participation becomes increasingly important for work-life balance and family well-being.
Targeting Younger Men: The finding that older men participate less in childcare suggests interventions targeting younger generations could be particularly effective.
Engaging Religious Institutions: Mosques and Islamic organizations can play a role in promoting egalitarian domestic arrangements through sermons, classes, and community programs.
Conclusion: A Progressive Faith
This study fundamentally challenges how we understand the relationship between Islam and gender equality in the household. Rather than reinforcing patriarchal norms, Islamic religiosity appears to encourage Muslim men to take on a greater share of domestic responsibilities.
The findings reveal that Muslim men’s religious commitment positively correlates with their participation in housework and childcare, suggesting that faith can be a resource for gender equality rather than an obstacle. As Malaysia and other Muslim-majority countries navigate the tensions between tradition and modernization, these findings offer hope that religious values can adapt to support more equitable family structures.
“The higher level of Islamic religiosity encourages Muslim men to participate more in housework and childcare,” the study concludes, “perhaps it can lead to a more equal distribution of responsibilities within the household, irrespective of traditional gender roles” .
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