She is at the bottom of the family hierarchy. While she does gain a certain degree of independence after the birth of her second or third child, her relationship with her husband remains asymmetrical. In a traditional Romani family, the man is not required to help his wife in her daily tasks. The man's only duty is to give his wife the money he has made that is, if he has a job at all. A man is considered to be a bad husband if he drinks away all the money he makes.
Some Romani women consider abuse under such circumstances to be normal.
Jealousy is often seen as one of the ways men show their love for their wives. In short, men who do not exhibit jealousy are not in love. But the community condemns abuse that exceeds certain acceptable limits. There are cases of Romani sons defending their mothers from their fathers. Nevertheless, a man who is not faithful to his wife is generally tolerated some women even take pride in the fact that their men are skirt-chasers.