Asia's matrilineal societies where women rule
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.
Equal partners
Matrilineal societies are generally viewed as those where households are headed by women and lineage is traced through the mother. Furthermore, property is owned and passed on from mother to daughter and husbands move into their wives' homes upon marriage. But men deal with political or societal decisions. They regard such arrangements as a balanced and equal division of power.
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.
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.
Out with the old ways?
But matrilineal practices of these societies are undergoing a transformation, propelled by increasing exposure to other ways of life and growing opposition from some of their men against traditional customs and norms.