Case Study 1 (10 marks)

Group work of seven students.

Choose only one case.

Topic: Rights & Responsibilities of Spouses

Case 1: Plus 1 and It’s Too Crowded

Ali is a car-wash business owner in a small town. He is a father and a husband in a
small family of 3. Zainab, his wife, works as insurance agent. Yusuf, their son is
studying in a college.

Their family is an average middle-income family. They were having a peaceful

life until Hasmah, Zainab’s younger sister joined them. Hasmah has been divorced
by her husband and since then has been staying with Ali and Zainab. Zainab is the
eldest of 4 siblings and has always been a surrogate mother to them as their parents
passed away when they were very young. And now, even when they are all grown
up, they would refer to and depend on Zainab when they need support.

Hasmah unfortunately has become a disruptor of their peaceful life. Hasmah

has a catankerous character and always plays by her own rules. At home, even when
Ali is around, she would just wrap her body with towel when she goes for and comes
from shower. She wears revealing clothes, takes naps and sleeps in the living room
even though she is given a private room in the house. She deliberately refuses to
listen to Ali and Zainab’s advice about proper manner in the house. She’s
unemployed and depends on Zainab for living. She feels that she is more entitled to
Zainab’s care and attention as they are siblings. Whenever Zainab advises her to
respect Ali, she would remind her that Ali could dump her anytime, but a sister is
indispensable.

Ali is disturbed with the change in their family life, but chose not to speak about it
to Zainab. He has a peaceful personality and always avoid arguments. This lately he
prefers to stay long hours at his carwash office. Zainab herself feels annoyed and torn
between her husband and sister. She advised Hasmah to respect their family and behave
appropriately but could not make her cooperates. Zainab feels sad that her husband
now spends more time at work and sometimes spends overnight there in order to avoid
Hasmah.

Yusuf is Ali and Zainab’s only child. Yusuf is aware of the tension in the house
ever since Hasmah moved in and puts pressure on Zainab to put his father’s interest
as priority. He blames his mother; to him she fails to manage her sister. He becomes
upset learning that his father spends many nights in the carwash office. As a result,
he prefers not to go home even during long semester breaks.
Questions:
1) What do you think Ali could/should do?
2) What do you think Zainab could/should do?
3) In the long run, what could happen to Ali, Zainab, Hasmah, and Yusuf if this
situation is not managed well?

Case: Work-family Conflict

Ahmad and Zahrah have been married for 18 years. Ahmad is a secondary school
teacher while Zahrah is a head department in a college. Ahmad comes home at 3
p.m. and Zahrah normally will come home after office hour, around 5:30 p.m.
Ahmad agrees that these days it has become a necessity for both husband and wife
to work. After all, Zahrah is a university graduate and a source of pride to her family
as she is the only degree-holder among her 5 siblings.

Zahrah is a dedicated employee. She feels that it is her responsibility to do her

work at her level best as she earns money from it. She does every assignment given
to her, and doesn’t mind taking them home to ensure that she meets the datelines.
She feels satisfied that her hard work is recognized and that she got promoted and
salary increment for 2 consecutive years. She knows that Ahmad wishes her to cook
and clean the house but she could not manage her time as she’s got so much work
and she’s too tired to do any cooking. Other than that, she believes that it is not her
duty to do them, and if Ahmad cannot do it, he has to buy from outside and hire a
cleaner to do the cleaning. When she does not take her work home, she prefers to
pay attention to her children’s studies as she wants them to be successful
academically. She feels that Ahmad is being unfair and expects too much from her.

Ahmad does not agree that his wife takes her unfinished work home. He
knows that it is not a wife’s duty to cook but wishes his wife to do so as it is more
economical and healthier for the family. He spends about RM300-400 monthly for
meals alone and this does not include expenses for meals at school. Their youngest
child was also admitted to hospital once due to stomach ache. For him, beyond
economic reason, it is important for Zahrah to set a good role model to their
children as a good wife and mother by balancing and prioritizing her work and
home responsibilities. He has spoken to Zahra about this number of times, but it
has always ended up with severe arguments.
 Zahrah and Ahmad’s children are studying in secondary and primary school. They
grow up in a household where both parents are always been busy. Their lunches are
bought from any restaurants, and if the food is finished by night, the father will go out
again to buy dinner home. They are aware that their mother brings her work home and
is always on her laptop doing her work and attends to their youngest sister’s studies.
They have got used to their parents quarrelling over cooking and cleaning matters in
their house. They learnt from their mother that if a woman earns income to support the
family, she should be relieved from domestic responsibilities. However, they agree with
their father that it would be better if they can prepare food from home but couldn’t
figure out what to do about it.

Questions:
1) A wife should not be forced to do house chores at home. Discuss.
2) Is a husband relieved from giving nafaqah to his working wife?
3) In this case, is Zahrah entitled for her nafaqah?
4) What could be the implications to children who are raised in this
family environment?

Submission:
Email to drnajwa.ag@gmail.com not later by 10th November, 2020