This article explores how gender norms rooted in culture and religion influence gender inequality among Malay couples in Malaysia. Studies on the unbalanced division of unpaid domestic work are pivotal because they negatively affect women’s economic status, well-being and life. Many studies have indicated that gender inequality in the division of household labour persists even after accounting for paid work time and resources, suggesting that gender norms lead to the unequal division in unpaid domestic work. By using gender perspective as the theoretical perspective, this study explores how men and women behave according to cultural and religious defined gender roles and are expected to behave as such. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Malay couples in Malaysia. The study suggests that women shoulder a disproportionate amount of housework and childcare due to the cultural and religious gender norms that foster the prescribed roles, emphasising men’s role as the primary breadwinners and women’s role as the homemakers. This study highlights that gender norms rooted in culture and religion plays vital roles in creating gender inequality among Malay couples. Moreover, this study adds support to the gender perspective that not only gender role ideology matter, but also highlights that religiosity matters when accounting for gender norms in Malay society. This study implies that recognising the importance of cultural and religious gender norms around domestic work as women’s work is crucial in narrowing the gender gap in unpaid domestic work.

Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCM) is widely known among Malaysians for its practices. This paper aims to examine users’ experiences and perceptions of TCM on its role in sustaining the health and well-being of Malaysians. To achieve the objective of this study, a qualitative study was conducted with the respondents by using an online in-depth interview through the video conferencing platform. 15 respondents residing in Penang, Malaysia who used TCM including Traditional Malay Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Indian Medicine, and Islamic Medical Practice were recruited for this study. The data from the interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic approach was used for data analysis to identify emerging themes and sub-themes. Results indicated five core themes: (i) Strength of traditional beliefs on TCM, (ii) personalised patient-practitioner relationship, (iii) perceived effectiveness of TCM (iv) TCM provides better preventive measures, and (v) TCM promotes a holistic approach to health and well-being. Here, it concludes that TCM impacts Malaysians’ health and wellbeing. Therefore, its potential for growth and importance, especially for sustaining health and well-being cannot be denied. Further research with a larger sample of respondents is needed to represent the population better while deepening the understanding of users’ experiences and perceptions.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected how we spend our time in the workplace and at home. Moreover, it caused employed couples to simultaneously work from home and deal with unpaid work due to Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO). What happens to housework and childcare responsibilities when women and men are required to work from home due to an abrupt lockdown? Who is doing the housework and childcare? Who should be responsible for unpaid domestic work? What are the factors that affect men’s share in housework and childcare? This paper reports the early results of an online survey conducted on Malaysian men and women during the nationwide imposed lockdown in May 2020. In addition, it discusses how the pandemic affected unpaid housework and childcare time and responsibilities in Malaysia. The findings suggest that women spend more time on housework and childcare than men and are responsible for most unpaid domestic work during COVID-19. These findings are consistent with those obtained before the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also suggest that the time availability perspective affects men’s share in housework and that the relative resources perspective affects their share in childcare during COVID-19. Overall, the results call for policy attention to the factors that narrow gender inequality in unpaid domestic work.

Women shouldered most housework despite their educational and employment status before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of Indian women in the division of housework and their subjective feelings during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. A sample of twelve Indian married working women shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews. The findings show that most Indian women shouldered the housework burden while juggling both paid and unpaid work simultaneously during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of Indian women felt stressed because they perceived housework as women’s responsibility. Indian women’s experiences and negative feelings indicate the need for policy makers to narrow gender inequality in unpaid domestic work and enhance women’s well-being in the households.