Domestic Violence And Matrilineal Society - Recapturing Khasi Theological-Ethical Values

Domestic violence is a global issue today crossing across barriers of caste, class, status, religion and culture. The Indian society is facing the worst impact of domestic violence. Nevertheless, this is not just the phenomenon of patriarchal society alone, women in matrilineal society like that of the Khasi in Meghalaya face this malady. The common supposition rules out domestic violence in Khasi matrilineal society as it assumed that women enjoy better status and opportunities than their counterparts in patriarchal societies. However, when it comes to day to day transactions it posits numerous problems such as gender differences, interplay of class, status, patriarchy and power, of which domestic violence against women is one of the effects. Therefore, though Khasi society is matrilineal in nature it mirrors a patriarchal society in many ways and domestic violence is a dilemma that the Khasi matrilineal society is facing today.

This book is an attempt to prove that women in matrilineal society face domestic violence. It also tries to analyze the different factors that contribute to the rising cases of violence against women at home. It also aims at responding to the problem taking into consideration indigenous/tribal ethical parameters that are deemed viable. The effort is to rediscover those ethical principles that are already available in the indigenous/tribal culture and worldview, which otherwise are not given due importance in the present indigenous/tribal epistemology. Formulating a feasible alternative theological-ethical response by making use of the indigenous/tribal resources and epistemologies to address the issue of domestic violence in matrilineal society is the intention of this book.

Rev. Malwin Stone Passah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and Ethics, teaching Christian Social Ethics at the John Roberts Theological Seminary, Mawklot, Shillong, India. At present he is serving as the Dean of Extension Program of the Seminary and also as the Editor of the Khasi Theological Journal Ka Thiar Jingtip. He is an ordained Minister of the Presbyterian Church of India. He has completed his B.D. and M.Th. degrees from the Senate of Serampore College (University). He has also contributed many articles in different theological journals in India.

There has been in recent years a demand of research works on different concepts of Khasi culture and matrilineal system for reference books. A number of writings that came out in the past emphasized on the lineage system and the system of inheritance practicing by the Khasis. Theoretically, the Khasis believe that women enjoy their rights and have equal status with men; this assumption has been blindly accepted not only by the outsiders but also by the Khasi people in the past years. Even many Khasi and non Khasi writers have written about the status of women to be higher as compared to our fellow counterparts practicing the patriarchal system in our neighbouring states and beyond. Many were of the view that Khasi women do not need empowerment as they are already empowered. Yet, practically the Khasis who claim to practice the matrilineal system have the only benefit that is of the lineage being traced to the mother and nothing else because all other decisions are in the hands of men. The partiarchal mindset is very much there in the Khasi society; women do face oppression and domestic violence as other women of the patriarchal society. With the research undertaken and submitted to the senate of Serampore College (University) for the Master of Theology on the topic Domestic Violence and Matrilineal Society: Recapturing Khasi Theological-Ethical Values, Rev. Malwin Stone Passah has made a right decision to publish this dissertation.. This is a kind of reasearch which is the need of the hour to really know the matrilineal system which faces the transition today.

1. Statement of the Problem The Khasi society practices the matrilineal system, in which descent and lineage is traced from the mother's side. The matrilineal system seems to guarantee the rights to women and accord them a higher status. But, when it comes to day to day transactions, it posits enormous problems such as gender difference; inter play of power, patriarchy and status, thus, leading to diverse forms of domestic violence. Therefore, domestic violence is one of the key issues that the Khasi matrilineal society is facing today. Despite Khasi society being matrilineal in nature it reflects the characteristics of a patriarchal society such as domestic violence against women, which is an important dimension of the research. The other dimension is that in the above system, men have also become victims of the same. Violence, whether domestic, or in any other form, is not merely a criminal act of physical force perpetrated against the other person. It covers the whole gamut of exploitation, discrimination, maintaining unequal structures and creation of an atmosphere of terror and threat, all of which are supported by the context of power relations.' An attempt therefore, will be made to interrogate the causes and consequences of the above issue pertaining to the Khasi matrilineal society.

Further, taking the social setting of the Khasi society into consideration, the researcher intends to investigate, analyze and interpret the aforementioned problem. Effort will also be made to respond from an indigenous theological-ethical perspective. In the process the research would pursue in motivating the church and society to take up the issue constructively and meaningfully. 2. Previous Research There has been no in-depth research conducted on domestic violence in the Khasi matrilineal society. However, while making a survey of the previous researches, the researcher came across the work of Bornwell Wankhar, Patriarchy in the Matrilineal of the Khasi: A Christian Response with Special Reference to the Interest of Women's Liberation (Unpublished M.Th Thesis, Senate of Serampore, 2005). In this work the author emphasizes on the existence and dimensions of Patriarchy within the Khasi matrilineal society. The attempt of the researcher is to prove that patriarchy as an androcentric ideology operates strongly in the matrilineal system against women. This nullifies the common belief that women enjoy a better status in the matrilineal system. On the other hand, the present research emphasizes on proving the fact that domestic violence especially against women is not a phenomenon of patriarchal society alone but the malady of the Khasi matrilineal society. It may also be inferred that, in the same system in subtle ways men are also victimized. Nevertheless, the intensity of violence differs and women are the majority and the main targets of domestic violence. Hence, it attempts to investigate the extent and intensity of domestic violence pertaining to the Khasi matrilineal society. The interplay of power and patriarchy may be looked upon as the key factors that contribute to the rise of domestic violence in the Khasi society.