ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on unpacking authoritative sources in the lives of cadari (face-veiled women) and conservative voices associated with strict religious lifestyles, including ideas of femininity. Religious homogamy is essential for women to achieve their aspirations to be true Muslim women by marrying husbands with the same understanding of Islamic doctrines. Adapting the insights of Saba Mahmmod (2005), and Aristotle and Michel Foucault’s discussion of habitus and moral code that are central to Mahmood’s conceptualisation of agency, Nisa examines values governing the lives of cadari by analysing the notion of taat (obedient) habitus. In this discussion, Nisa does not confine herself to religiosity, she covers the varied expression of women’s everyday lives. This is validated through discussion of how cadari enjoy the pleasure of actively fashioning their strict lifestyles. Following the self-transformation to be better Muslims, cadari proactively engage in transforming their pre-existing religious habitus. A common assumption is that conservative movements rely on male religious authority voices to enforce strict religious lifestyles. Nisa argues that agency derives from many sources, and despite these women closely following their movement’s authoritative voices, it cannot be automatically assumed that they lack agency.
