ABSTRACT
Women walk along in twos and threes as they return from school, surrounded by children. Women are central to the Punjabi Muslim system of ceremonial exchange. The influential position of women in the family and in wider social contexts is related also to the income they earn, for it gives them a measure of independence. Many of the women save in rotating credit associations, together with men with more lucrative incomes. Women are involved in matters of birth, marriage and death to a far greater extent than their husbands. Women are primarily 'target workers', saving for specific projects: a wedding, a trip to Pakistan, a tractor to be sent back home, a dowry, as well as current gifting and hospitality. The expression of religiosity through religious gatherings increases, however, as women become more 'rooted' locally.
