On one side, where the entire world is fighting the battle of equality for women, there’s a Himalayan tribe in India, nestled in the serene valleys of Himalayas, where women have all the power.
For the women of the Mosuo tribe, marriage is no achievement and men don’t ”complete” them. These women are the face of the society that we dream to live in someday.
Called as the last matriarchal societies in the world, the Mosuo tribe lives in the villages surrounding Lugu Lake, 2,700 metres above sea level. Rightly known as the “Kingdom of Women”, the women here take every major decision, from controlling household finances to owning property.
Unlike our society, where life is challenging for a single woman at every step, these women are free to not get married. They can even have multiple partners without any character assassination.
Contrary to our societal norms where a woman is considered complete only after she gets married and bears kids, women from this tribe are free from any such obligations. Not just this, they can also freely chose to live separately from the man who fathered their kids and still be the boss of their house.
One of the traditions of this tribe that sets them centuries ahead of the society we live in is the practice of “Zuo Hun” or Walking Marriage. As a girl turns 13, she can choose her lover from the men of the tribe and she doesn’t have to commit to one man if she doesn’t wish to.
And quite interestingly, no one is bothered to know about the father of a child and every adult man is known as an uncle!
Wondering what the men of Mosuo tribe do?
The men of this historically progressive tribe are called “Axias” and they carry out jobs like fishing and animal rearing.
The world could learn so much from them!