This study of Muslim, Sinhala and Tamil households in Sri Lanka examines both the commonality of patriarchal structures and the economic problems in such households as well as the differences created by the ethnicities that divide them. The author looks at the nature and reliability of Kinship support for female heads and the reciprocal obligations in terms of female property and conventional conduct extracted from female heads. She questions development policies promised on the patriarchal household and argues for a recognition of diversity and complexity. Blurb source: https://www.press.umich.edu/225546/matrilineal_communities_patriarchal_realities