Meghalaya’s matriliny under the microscope: what the numbers really say
The state's famed matrilineal system is real — and more complicated than the headlines.
Meghalaya’s matrilineal system — in which property passes through the mother’s line and the youngest daughter inherits — is often held up as a feminist exception in India.
The reality is layered: inheritance is matrilineal, but political and economic power is often exercised by men, and the system is being renegotiated in the courts.
A new study finds young Khasi women more likely to support the tradition, and young men more likely to question it — the inverse of the popular narrative.