Women's roles in support of the Theravada Buddhist Sangha have been limited by the cultural restraints of the Southeast Asian societal traditional norms. They do what monks and most men in traditional societies do not do for themselves. They prepare food and provide the fabric for clothing.
The daily giving of sticky rice and plastic bags with curries on alms round and new robes during Kathina and at funerals are important functional supports for a community made up of boys and men.
