Sarcouncil Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

Abstract: The connection between religiosity and happiness has been greatly investigated in Western settings, but there is very little qualitative research worldwide on how Muslim women in the rural South Asian setting interpret this relationship. This qualitative research paper examines barriers to religious practice and avenues to happiness among Muslim women aged 40 and above in Tandojam, Pakistan. The sample size for the focused group discussions was 60 women, selected using purposive sampling. The NVIVO software was used to analyze the data thematically with word frequency analysis, word clouds, and thematic mapping. There were four dominant themes, which included: (1) Cultural barriers: as a result of domestic workload and gender role, women have little time to worship; (2) Health constraints: due to physical illness (and especially chronic illness), women are less likely to worship; (3) Knowledge gaps: women were unaware of their religious obligation, which was an obstacle; and (4) Psychological factors: women were unaware of the barriers to practicing religion, and laziness and motivational issues were found to be the common ones. The most salient concepts were identified as health (n=11), cultural (n=8) and unaware (n=7) after analyzing word frequency. The paper draws the conclusion that cultural demands and home burden are central factors restricting rural Muslim women to religious practices, but there are other overlapping barriers. Irrespective of these difficulties, the respondents believed that religiosity is a key to genuine happiness. The results are consistent with Livability Theory, which indicates that material deprivation does not exclude happiness when one is engaged in religion. Among the recommendations there is dealing with time poverty by supporting the family and improving religious education to women.