Table 1.

Scoring of the three indicators used in the development of the maternal autonomy index.

Domains and conditions	Scoring criteria
A woman’s involvement in household decision-making. Includes 3 decisions—final say on	Participates in all 3 decisions = 2 Participates in 1 or 2 decisions = 1 Does not participate in any decisions = 0
• Her own healthcare
• Making large household purchases, and
• Making visits to family and relatives)
A woman’s tolerance of domestic violence. Includes whether or not a woman thinks it is justifiable for her husband to beat her in the following 5 situations	Thinks it is not justifiable in any situation = 4 Thinks it is justifiable in 1 or 2 situations = 3 Thinks it is justifiable in 3 situations = 2 Thinks it is justifiable in 4 situations = 1 Thinks it is justifiable in all the 5 situations = 0
• When she goes out without telling her husband
• When she neglects the children
• When she argues with her husband,
• When she denies her husband sex and
• When she burns the food
A woman’s financial independence. Includes ownership of either	Owns a house, land, or both alone or jointly with husband = 1 Does not own any house, land = 0
• House, or
• Land

The range of maternal autonomy scores was 0–7, with 0–3 indicating low levels of maternal autonomy; 4–5 indicating moderate levels of maternal autonomy; and 6–7 indicating high levels of maternal autonomy.