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Photojournalism: Meghalaya; Where Women Rule

 

In the small hilly Indian state of Meghalaya, India, a country where women usually cry out for equality and respect, a matrilineal system operates. In the two major tribes of Meghalaya, Khasis and Jaintias, children take the mother's surname and daughters inherit the family property. Women dress how they please, walk freely in the the streets without fear of harassment, and drink alcohol in bars. Most businesses are run by women. Arranged marriage has never been practiced and wives have always divorced freely as they hold the family heritage, thus have financial independence.  

In a country with a high rate of female feticide, the matrilineal society of Meghalaya is the one and only place in India where the birth of a baby girl is greeted with happiness.  

For Le Parisien Magazine  

  • Girls come home from school in Dowki village
  • Dalariti looks on as her sister Asorphi holds her newborn daughter in the maternity ward of a hospital
  • A woman shops with a baby on her back at a market in Shillong
  • A girl holds a baby in Shnongpdeng Village
  • A class demonstrates how women can be assertive when pressured by men a university in Shillong
  • Girls hang out between classes at a university in Shillong
  • Girls play in Shnongpdeng Village
  • Girls walk home from school in Dowki village
  • A girl sits on a rock in Shnongpdeng Village
  • Elvinia works in a village outside of Shillong
  • A woman plays with her daughter in a smal village outside Shillong
  • A market in Shillong
  • Michael Syiem stands for a photo with his group, the Maitshaphrang Movement. Their organization is demanding registration of marriages and more rights for men.
  • A traditional Khasi dance
  • Enora Warmalai lays next to her newborn daughter in the maternity ward of a hospital
  • Men and women enjoy a night out at a bar in Shillong
  • Men and women enjoy a night out at a bar in Shillong
  • A Khasi princess holds her daughter in Shillong
  • Girls backstage before a fashion show in the Jaintia Hills
  • Girls backstage before a fashion show in the Jaintia Hills
  • Girls backstage before a fashion show in the Jaintia Hills
  • Girls wait for their school bus in Shillong
  • Women eat at a restaurant during their lunch break in Dowki
  • Three generations of women, June with her daughter Gayle and granddaughter Adanna
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