This dissertation is a social anthropological study that undertakes a scholarly endeavour to comprehend the conjugal lives of the pious young Mappila women in Malabar beyond the popular rhetoric of ‘early marriage victims’ or ‘Grandma at 30’ upon the community. This project is an exploration into the domain of ‘Gender and Islam’ in the context of Mappila studies. The study aims to delve into four primary research objectives. Firstly, it aims to examine the influence of traditional ulema in the formation of corporeal perceptions among the elder Mappila women and to understand the multiple modes of contestation among the pious young Mappila women towards the ulema’s preachings. Secondly, to explore the perceptions of spousal selection, marital ceremonies and property transfer among the pious young Mappila women in their negotiations with the notion of an ideal Muslimah. The third objective takes up the analysis of how these women understand female sexuality and motherhood within their conjugal ties in the light of Islamic tradition. The fourth objective seeks to provide an in-depth insight into the everyday conjugal relationship dynamics of these women and their negotiations within the patriarchal socio-cultural milieu of the Mappila community.

Their ethical considerations are imbued within their multiple ways of contestation, thereby transcending themselves from purely modern facets of living within a patriarchal social structure. Employing a grounded approach, this study utilises ethnographic research as a primary mode of data collection. Furthermore, this study incorporated digital ethnography, participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews. It also makes use of popular Islamic literature in the form of Malayalam booklets, recorded Malayalam sermons and vernacular maxims in Malayalam that shed light into the cultural constructs around the notion of femininity with certain elements which are interwoven into religious interpretations. The study engages with the contemporary studies on the ‘Anthropology of Islam’, which is characterised by the ‘everyday turn’ and the ‘piety turn’ and unravels the conceptualization of time by Muslims while emphasising the essential part of the past, present and future in moulding their everyday lives. The findings of this study are conceptualised within the theoretical framework of embodiment of ethical self and piety expounded by Mahmood (2005) as well as incorporating Asad’s (2009) concept of Islam as a discursive tradition. The study endorses Mahmood’s concept of agency that signifies its inherent intricacy beyond the dichotomy of resistance or conformity. Drawing from Mahmood’s insight into the potential coexistence of distinct self-formations within a culture that stem from different discourses, this research discerns the different modes of pious self-formation among the elder and younger Mappila women of the community. Through a nuanced exploration into the lived experiences of pious young Mappila women, the effort is not to ascribe undue prominence to their everyday lives but to unravel the potential of organising new forms of bodily lives particular in the realm of female sexuality and motherhood, thereby sophisticating the liberal discourse on agency and gender.
Keywords: Good Muslimah, Ulema, Corporeality, Piety, Conjugality and Affective Marital Relation.