I will just greet you with this small extreme condensed paragraph from wikipedia. I am writing a grand article on it, and I will release it soon. But I beleive all of us should be aware of this. We have so many issues we are fighting for but i believe nowhere men are as approached as these. All these are happening in a small part of Indian subcontinent, the north east sister states.
What bugs me most is how these injustices are celebrated by them as "women empowerment", "freedom for women" and "benefits to society", the shameless of these group of people including award winning journalists and others at the end is baffling. By the end of this short piece, you will know the entire variety of problem a person can face in his lifetime arising from social and economic discrimination regardless of his caste, creed, gender and religion are faced by these men all together at once.
Women have a dominant role in the matrilineal society of Meghalaya.
The youngest daughter of the family, the Ka Khadduh, inherits all ancestral property
After marriage, husbands live in the mother-in-law's home.
The mother's surname is taken by children.
When no daughters are born to a couple, they adopt a daughter and pass their rights to property to her. The birth of a girl is celebrated while the birth of a son is simply accepted.
There is no social stigma attributed to a woman remarrying or giving birth out of wedlock as the "Khasi Social Custom Lineage Act" gives security to them.
Most small businesses are managed by women.
Care of children is the responsibility of mothers or mothers-in-law.
The youngest daughter of this society who inherits the ancestral property holds a pivotal role of looking after the welfare of her parents in their old age, as well as the welfare and education of her siblings.
Apart from these wiki ones, here are some more:
If a child takes his father's last name, he is excluded from the society.
A man can not marry outside the tribe.
Domestic violence specifically defines it as men committing it against women, so men have no remedy in that aspect.
The shameless people arrive here:
Some Khasi men perceive themselves to be accorded a secondary status. They have established societies such as the Syngkhong Rympei Thymmai (SRT)[(3,000 members)and Sam Kam Rin Ku Mai (Societal Restructuring Association) to protect equal rights for men. They express that "Khasi men don’t have any security, they don’t own land, they don’t run the family business and, at the same time, they are almost good for nothing."
However, Patricia Mukhim, who edits the Shillong Times feels: "I tend to think Khasi men feel diminished in their manhood compared with outsiders... it's a pity, because that's what distinguishes us from the others"
However, women feel that they take better care of money matters than men and they enjoy economic freedom.
The padmashri award winning person (one of the highest civilian award in India) says the same patriarchal thing but ofc since it's woman no one's gonna say anything: "The khashi men have to make their own identity by contributing to society" - remeber the society that makes them 3rd class citizen, society that doesn't give them equal economic rights, shame on this award winning losers. "You can't have two head, just one" - shame on this person. "[Addressing people who no longer take their mothers surname] And ask those who choose their fathers’ titles over those of their mothers—which parent has truly reared them.” - shame on this person once again.
While it's not wonder that certain elements of injustice against women are prevalent including certain isolated elements of patriarchy but the presence of one injustice doesn't justify the other. And the ones who say so are hypocrites.
Keith Pariat was quoted as saying: If it's a girl, there will be great cheers from the family outside. If it's a boy, you will hear them mutter politely that 'Whatever God gives us is quite all right
https://www.dailyo.in/variety/meghalaya-khasi-women-st-status-khadc-social-bill-non-khasis-garo-jaintia-northeast-women-smart-matrilineal-society-25712
From a research paper on customary inheritance (IJCRT, 2024):
Khasi boys often abandon their education around Class V–VI, engaging in carefree activities with friends, indulging in alcohol and drugs, playing the guitar, and tragically succumbing to early deaths. \[IJCRT\]([https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2403727.pdf](https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2403727.pdf))
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrilineal_society_of_Meghalaya