Marriage and Piety
East Javanese Women Cultivating Piety by Doing Marital Tasks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v9i1.30161Keywords:
Marriage, Piety, Marital TasksAbstract
This article examines how the Pandalungan women in East Java understand their marital chores in marriage and feel that performing them is a sign of their piety by using the concepts of piety, gender, and marital tasks. Qualitative data are collected through interviews, using the snowball sampling technique to select interlocutors. The analysis indicates two main findings. First, Pandalungan women believe that domestic chores are their primary responsibilities in marriage, which must be performed by them rather than their husbands. These responsibilities are culturally and socially internalized as part of their gender role within the household structure. Second, women in the Pandalungan group perceive that a woman’s piety can be cultivated and expressed through marriage by being obedient to her husband and fulfilling her assigned marital tasks. This obedience is seen not only as a social expectation but also as a moral and religious duty. Therefore, women are obliged to perform their marital tasks as a form of devotion and expression of piety within marriage, which reflects the intersection between gender norms, cultural values, and religious understanding in their daily lives
References
Journals and Books
Adamson, Clarissa. “Gendered Anxieties: Islam, Women’s Rights, and Moral Hierarchy in Java.” Anthropological Quarterly 80, no. 1 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1353/anq.2007.0000.
Al-Asfahani, Ar-Raghib. Mu’jâm Mufradât Alfâẓ Al-Qur’ân. Beirut: Dâr al-Fikr, 1972.
Al-Jurjani, Ali bin Muhammad. Al-Ta’rifat. al-Qahirah: Dar al Kitab al-Mishri, 1991.
Al-Tabari, Abu Ja‘far Muhammad bin Jarir. Tafsir Al-Thabari. XVI. al-Qahirah: Dar al-Ma‘arif, n.d.
Al-Yasu’i, Louis Ma’luf. Al-Munjid Fi Al-Munjid Fî Al-Lughah Wa Al-Adab Wa Al-Ulûm. Beirut: al-Maṭba’ah al-Katholikiyyah, 1927.
Amrullah, H.A.K. Tafsir Al-Azhar. I. Jakarta: Panjimas, 2021.
Ansari, Usamah Yasin. “The Pious Self Is A Jewel in Itself: Agency and Tradition in the Production of Shariatic Modernity.” South Asia Research 30, no. 3 (2010): 275–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/026272801003000304.
Ansor, Muhammad. “Being Woman in the Land of Shari‘a: Politics of the Female Body, Piety, and Resistance in Langsa, Aceh.” Al-Jami’ah 52, no. 1 (2014). https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2014.521.59-83.
Bauer, Karen. “Woman’s Identity and the Qur’an: A New Reading by Nimat Hafez Barazangi.” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 4, no. 3 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2979/MEW.2008.4.3.131.
Buggenhagen, Beth. Muslim Families in Global Senegal: Money Takes Care of Shame. Indiana University Press, 2012.
Chafetz, Janet Saltzman. Gender Equity, an Integrated Theory of Stability and Change. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1990.
Chalik, Abdul. “Religion and Local Politics: Exploring the Subcultures and the Political Participation of East Java NU Elites in the Post-New Order Era.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 4, no. 1 (2010). https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2010.4.1.109-150.
Cheema, Shahbaz Ahmad. “Construction of Authenticity in Islamic Law: An Analysis of Polygamy, Divorce, and Political Participation of Women.” Islamic Studies 59, no. 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.52541/isiri.v59i4.898.
Clark, Gabrielle. “Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject by Saba Mahmood.” Political and Legal Anthropology Review 31, no. 2 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1555-2934.2008.00027_2.x.
Doorn-Harder, Pieternella Van. “Controlling the Body: Muslim Feminists Debating Women’s Rights in Indonesia.” Religion Compass 2, no. 6 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00105.x.
Eisenlohr, Patrick. “Cosmopolitanism, Globalization, and Islamic Piety Movements in Mauritius.” City and Society 24, no. 1 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-744X.2012.01065.x.
Hassan, Riaz. “On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia.” Australian Religion Studies Review 15, no. 1 (2002).
Helli, Abdulrahman. “The Concept of Taqwa and the Quranic Ethical System: Structure and Context.” Journal of Islamic Ethics, 2021.
Husni, Ronak, and Daniel L. Newman. Muslim Women in Law and Society, Annotated Translation of Al-Tahir Al-Haddad’s Imra’tuna Fi ‘l-Sharia a Wa Al- Mujtama, with an Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Indraswari, Ari Susanti, Unti Ludigdo, and Ari Kamayanti. “Fenomena Penolakan Auditor Perempuan Oleh Auditee Pandalungan.” Journal of Research and Applications: Accounting and Management 1, no. 3 (2016). https://doi.org/10.18382/jraam.v1i3.40.
Ismail, Salwa. “Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject:Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject.” American Anthropologist 108, no. 3 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2006.108.3.603.
Kasir, Abu al-Fida’ Isma’il al-Qurashi al-Dimashqi Ibnu. Tafsir Al-Qur’an Al-Azim. IV. Kairo: Darul-Manar, 1999.
Khan, Mariam B., and Fatima Seedat. “Secure between God and Man: Peace, Tranquility and Sexuality through the Pietistic Aspirations of Believing Women.” Journal for the Study of Religion 30, no. 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/v30n1a6.
Kusmana. “Modern Discourse of Woman’s Ideal Role in Indonesia Tafsir Al-Qur’an of Ibu and Female Agency.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 9, no. 1 (2015). https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2015.9.1.25-58.
Maham, Raj, and Omar Khalid Bhatti. “Impact of Taqwa (Islamic Piety) on Employee Happiness: A Study of Pakistan’s Banking Sector.” Cogent Business and Management 6, no. 1 (2019).
Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2005.
Manzur, Ibnu. Lisan Al-’Arab. III. Beirut: Dar al-Fikri, 1999.
Marddent, Amporn. “Religious Piety and Muslim Women in Thailand.” Women and Gender: The Middle East and the Islamic World, 2013.
Mufidah, Ch. “Complexities in Dealing with Gender Inequality: Muslim Women and Mosque-Based Social Services in East Java Indonesia.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 11, no. 2 (2017). https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2017.11.2.459-488.
Munazir, Shahana. “Khidmat as Understanding: Muslim Women, Marriage, and Ethics of Care in Muslim Households.” South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal 32 (2025). https://doi.org/10.4000/136kg.
Mustaqilla, Safira, Dedy Sumardi, Jamhuri Jamhuri, and Juhari Hasan. “Ritual Contestation in Contemporary Acehnese Islam.” El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga 8, no. 2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v8i2.27103.
Pepinsky, Thomas B., and Bozena C. Welborne. “Piety and Redistributive Preferences in the Muslim World.” Political Research Quarterly 64, no. 3 (2011): 491–505. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912909359404.
Piela, Anna. “Piety as Aa Concept Underpinning Muslim Women’s Online Discussions of Marriage and Professional Career.” Contemporary Islam 5, no. 3 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-011-0162-y.
Rahim, Abdul. “Between Piety and Lifestyle: Hijab Shar’i on the Commodification Practices of the Islamic Culture Industry.” Ulumuna 26, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v26i1.448.
Rinaldo, Rachel. “Muslim Women, Middle Class Habitus, and Modernity In Indonesia.” Contemporary Islam 2, no. 1 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-007-0035-6.
Robert, W. Hefner. “Islamizing Java? Religion and Politics in Rural East Java.” The Journal of Asian Studies 46, no. 3 (1987). https://doi.org/10.2307/2056898.
Rohmaniyah, Inayah. “Burqa, Body and The Ultimate Piety of Being a Woman: The Construction of Sexuality and Resistance among Indonesian Female Migrant Workers.” Ushuluddin International Conference (USICON) 4 (2021).
Rolleghem, F. Van. “William and Mary Law Review.” The Military Law and the Law of War Review 12, no. 2 (2023). https://doi.org/10.4337/mllwr.1973.02.53.
Schwab, Wendell. Reading and Writing Piety: Islamic Literature in Kazakhstan. Indiana University, 2010.
Shihab, M. Quraish. Tafsir Al-Misbah. Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2002.
Smith, Bianca J. “Sexual Desire, Piety, and Law in a Javanese Pesantren : Interpreting Varieties of Secret Divorce and Polygamy.” Anthropological Forum 24, no. 3 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/00664677.2014.947918.
Solin, Siti Dian Natasya, Mursyid Djawas, Aulil Amri, Andi Sugirman, and Asni Zubair. “Batak Customary Marriage: A Study of the Prohibition of Same-Clan Marriage and Its Relevance in the Contemporary Era.” El-Usrah 7, no. 1 (2024).
Sulaiman, Mohamed, and Omar Khalid Bhatti. “Workplace Deviance and Spirituality in Muslim Organizations.” Asian Social Science 9, no. 10 (2013). https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n10p237.
Sumbulah, Umi. Spectrum Gender: Kilasan InkInforman 3 Gender Di Perguruan Tinggi. Malang: UIN-Maliki Press, 2008.
Syuhudi, Muhammad Irfan. “Berbagi Kuasa: Kesetaraan Peran Suami Istri Dalam Rumah Tangga.” Mimikri Jurnal Agama Dan Kebudayaan 8, no. 1 (2022).
Tobin, Sarah. “Everyday Piety: Islam & Economy in Jordan.” In Everyday Piety: Islam and Economy in Jordan. Cornell University Press, 2016.
Toriquddin, Moh, Nur Faizin, Tutik Hamidah, Ali Hamdan, and Muhammad. “Living Qur’an, Niqab, and Islamic Law: A Study at Mambaush Sholihin Islamic Boarding School, Gresik, East Java.” Samarah 8, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v8i2.19563.
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” American Quarterly 18, no. 2 (1966). https://doi.org/10.2307/2711179.
Yulikhah, Safitri. “Jilbab Antara Kesalehan Dan Fenomena Sosial.” Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah 36, no. 1 (2017): 96–117. https://doi.org/10.21580/jid.v36i1.1627.
Zain, Muhammad, Sitti Aaisyah, Asriaty Alimuddin, Akhmad Mughzi Abdillah, and Muhammad Fahmi Basyhah Fauzi. “Hijab Discourse in Indonesia: The Battle of Meaning Between Sharia and Culture in Public Space.” Samarah 7, no. 3 (2023). https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i3.19383.
Zia, Afiya Shehrbano. “‘My Body, Allah’s Choice’: Islamic Laws and Sexual Autonomies in Pakistan.” Australian Journal of Asian Law 23, no. 2 (2022).
Interviews
Interview with Informan 1, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, March 3, 2017
Interview with Informan 2, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, February 7, 2017.
Interview with Informan 3, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, February 4, 2017
Interview with Informan 4, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, February 15, 2017
Interview with Informan 5, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, February 10, 2017
Interview with Informan 6, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, March 9, 2017.
Interview with Informan 7, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, March 20, 2017.
Interview with Informan 8, a local housewife from Pandulungan, Malang, March 4, 2017.
Interview with Informan 9, local leaders of the Pandalungan group, Malang, February 7, 2017.
Interview with Informan 10, local leaders of the Pandalungan group, Malang, February 8, 2017.
Published
Versions
- 2026-05-30 (2)
- 2026-05-30 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jamilah Jamilah, and Farah Nuril Izza
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See The Effect of Open Acces)
