The Khasi: a matrilineal society where women lead.

[Lamahaha]

India gets a bad rap in the West because of the way women are treated - in general. But my long direct experience with India has taught me that it might have the worst, but it also has the best -- even if the best is rare. That's why India remains an enigma, hard to understand, hard to place a definitive label on.

As an example, here's this article on Facebook:

www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/inside-world-women-make-rules/
Who are the Khasi?
The Khasi are an indigenous ethnic group to northern India who number around two million. Theirs is a matrilineal society, where property and power is handed down through the female side of the family, and men play a limited role in society day-to-day.
The Khasi are one of the few matrilineal ethnicities in South Asia. The Khasi’s matrilineal form of society arises from the rights and liberties given to the women. These include the right to inheritance and property, the right of determination in the affairs of the family and clan, and the right to choose partners, as well as the right to educate their children and the right to individual development.

How this came about: ...Another theory comes from experts who claim the Khasi men were away too long during times of war to properly care for their families, and so passing property onto the daughters – and not the sons who would go on to fight themselves – seemed like a more logical idea...

Interesting if war is the stimulus. I've heard some South Pacific islands with high levels of tribal war were also matrilineal.

Women made great strides in the UK after the First World War when so many men were killed.

Thanks for the link to the article, Lamahaha. It was an interesting read.

It seemed to confirm to me that matriarchal cultures can be just as inadequate as patriarchal ones. The reversal of roles indicates that any hierarchy that depends on one group being valued more than another leads to similar frictions.

To disrespect a woman in this culture means to harm the society. Daughters are often more wanted than boys, and a family with just sons is considered to be miserable, because only daughters can assure the continuity of a clan.

Another aspect we shouldn’t forget is that the Khasi society is not equal, men have many disadvantages that can lead to problems, like low self-esteem and alcohol or drug abuse, especially in the villages. In the capital Shillong, there is even a men’s group fighting for the emancipation of the men, which counts about 4000 members.

I'm inclined to agree with the author of the article, when she says,
Every culture has its tradeoffs.