Let's move; matrilineal system in India

[qwerty5]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16592633

The article didn't mention to what extent women are involved in village politics and decision making. It would be interesting to know.

The thing that stood out for me was the fact that girl children are favoured in Khasi society. I'm presuming that this is because it is women that are responsible for looking after parents in old age, so once you have a daughter you expect that she will take care of you, your future welfare is certain and in return she will inherit your property. This is still the same structure where women are expected to take on the caring and domestic work but with the advantage that you actually get something back for it, so not exactly the great strides that the article makes out.

sakura from a bit of googling, it looks like women don't have much political power with very few seats in local legislatures.

Same googling threw up this article which puts the other side of the story.

thanks karma,
I think political power is the most important thing, because if you have that you control everything: what is built and constructed in the region, where communal money (taxes) is spent, businesses, laws, everything.
IN that village the property passes down the female line, so that's obviously better than patriarchies such as the UK and in mainstream India where most of the property, law-making and political power is in the hands of men...

... but I'm often wary of these articles, because the subtext is that women have got it great and have got nothing to complain about. They're even using the word "suffragette" to describe the men...

well that's wrong basically! The suffragists wanted the right to vote, whereas the men in that village seem to control the politics within it already. It's not comparable at all.

but I'm often wary of these articles, because the subtext is that women have got it great and have got nothing to complain about.
I agree. The man quoted in the article as saying men had no role was described as a shopkeeper. That sounds like quite an important economic role to me!