Asia’s matrilineal societies where women rule
Gender rights came under the spotlight this week with the arrival of International Women’s Day on Tuesday. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres seized on the opportunity to point out that the historic power imbalance is actually growing all over the world – as tradition, cultural values and religion are used to curtail women’s rights.
Yet while Asia is often viewed as overwhelmingly patriarchal, there remain societies where women control the purse strings and own property, while enjoying equal say in communal decisions. Here’s a look at some of them.
The Cham (Southeast Asia)
Spread across countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, the Cham too have followed the usual patterns of a matrilineal system: the family name and property passes among females. Girls also have the freedom to choose their husbands. Usually, the girl’s parents approach the boy for his hand. And married men usually go to live
in with their wives’ families. Some 4,000 Cham live in Bangkok,
descendents of families who migrated during the reign of King Rama I.
The Minangkabau (Indonesia)
Numbering four million, the Minangkabau is the world’s largest known matrilineal society today. While traditionally animist, and later influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism, many of them have now also embraced Islam. They maintain that their matrilineal way of life is in line with the Koran, which they say does not preclude women from owning property or having a say in community decisions.
The Mosuo (China)
The Mosuo live in large households headed by a matriarch. They have no concept of “husband” or “father”. They have “walking marriages”, where men can visit women and spend the night, but don’t live together. Children born of these marriages are raised in their mothers’ households. Biological fathers hardly play a role in rearing their offspring, as these men live in their own matriarchal homes.
The Khasi (India)
For Khasis, the birth of a daughter is cause for celebration, while that of a son is a simple affair. Usually, the youngest daughter of the family inherits all ancestral property. If a couple does not have a daughter, they adopt one and transfer their property to her. These matrilineal traits have left many Khasi men grumbling and establishing societies to protect their rights.
The Garo (India)
The Garo bear their mothers’ titles, and the youngest daughter inherits property from her mother. Previously, upon reaching puberty, sons left their parents’ homes and were trained in the village bachelor dormitory. But with Christianity having influenced modern Garo culture, such practices are now uncommon, with modern Garo parents granting their children equal care and rights.