Meghalaya, India: Where women rule, and men are suffragettes
It appears that some age-old traditions have been ruffling a few feathers of late, causing the views of a small band of male suffragettes to gain in popularity, reviving some rather outspoken opinions originally started by a small group of intellectuals in the 1960s.
I am sitting across a table from Keith Pariat, President of Syngkhong-Rympei-Thymmai, Meghalaya's very own men's rights movement.
He is quick to assure me that he and his colleagues "do not want to bring women down," as he puts it. "We just want to bring the men up to where the women are."
Mr Pariat, who ignored age-old customs by taking his father's surname is adamant that matriliny is breeding generations of Khasi men who fall short of their inherent potential, citing alcoholism and drug abuse among its negative side-effects.
"If you want to know how much the Khasis favour women just take a trip to the labour ward at the hospital," he says.
"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.'"
...
I decide to see for myself in a remote village in the East Khasi Hills. After two hours walking through thick jungle I meet 42-year-old Mary.
She is a "Ka Khadduh", the youngest daughter in her family and consequently, the one destined to live with her parents until she inherits the family house. Her husband, 36-year-old Alfred, lives with them.
When I talk to her inside their home, Mary tells me that women do not trust men to look after their money so they take control of it themselves. I glance at Alfred for a response but he musters only a smile.
Mary goes on: "Most men in our village leave school early to help their fathers in the fields. This is a great detriment to their education."
I turn to Alfred once more. He responds with another shy smile.
Mary admits she has never heard of the men's right's movement, but thinks the system will never change.
Alfred maintains his Mona Lisa smile.
As we are talking, a praying mantis careers into our hut and slams into the side of my head.
After the laughter dies down, I take the opportunity to break the ice with Alfred by pointing out that female mantises eat their mates after sex, making a gesture with my arms mimicking the insect's claws, an action the Khasi called "takor" and one which turns out to be the gesticular equivalent of sticking two fingers up at someone. There is more laughter at my expense.
Forty minutes later however I have yet to get a comment from Mary's husband and all too soon it is time to leave.
I feel that the last word should come from Alfred so I ask my translator to target a simple question directly at him.
"What does he think of the matrilineal system?"
There is a long and considered pause. After what seems like an eternity the silence is finally broken.
"He like," pipes up Mary, and it is time to go
