Anafe (portable stove)  

Sexual division of labour

Gender stereotypes: public / domestic

Gender and space

Anafes are culinary tools used to prepare dishes over low heat and to heat food. They are therefore objects associated with domestic life in al-Andalus. When analysed from a social perspective, they are capable of reflecting the family structure of the Muslim world and the role of women within it. The woman, as the gender responsible for the private sphere and the duty of caring for the family, obligations which included preparing meals, would be the person who would have used the anafe. This situation would continue to hold true during the Christian period and practically up to the present day, as both the use of anafes and the domestic role and dedication of women to the family remained in place until approximately the second half of the 20th century.