Women's Autonomy and Child Survival: A Comparison of Muslims and Non-Muslims in Four Asian Countries

Sharon J. Ghuman, University of Pennsylvania

I evaluate the hypothesis that higher infant and child mortality among Muslim populations is related to the lower autonomy of Muslim women using data from 15 pairs of Muslim and non-Muslim communities in India, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. Higher Muslim mortality is found in most settings in Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand but not in India. There is no consistent tendency for women’s autonomy in various spheres to be lower among Muslims compared to non-Muslims. Either across or within settings, the association between women’s autonomy and mortality is weak and measures of autonomy or socioeconomic status are of limited import for understanding the Muslim disadvantage in child survival.