This is not the first time that Meghalaya’s much-romanticised matrilineal legacy has been shown up for what it is: a cover-up for many wrongs and injustices faced by women in this society. Matriliny covers a multitude of unabashed attacks on women’s character: the clothes they wear, how they behave in public, who they go around with and finally who they choose to marry. Everything is dictated by the male members of this much touted matrilineal culture where ostensibly women enjoy rights that others of their ilk elsewhere in this country and the world are deprived of. It’s time to call out this sardonic attitude which only sounds good in songs and poetry, because real life is not a joyride for women in this matrilineal society.
Let’s start with the sordid goings-on in the Meghalaya Cricket Association (MCA) where young and aspiring women cricketers are treated more like sex objects than professional players aspiring to demonstrate their prowess on the national stage. The MCA violated the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act 2013 by not constituting an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) which is mandatory for any institution with 10 or more employees, whether permanent or contractual. The committee must include a senior woman employee as Presiding Officer, at least two employee members with relevant experience or commitment to women’s issues, and one external member from an NGO or someone familiar with sexual harassment issues. The series of actions taken by the incoming MCA President, James Sangma—against the violators of the women cricketers’ decency and morality (who include the Head Coach and Assistant Manager)—and the suspension of the Honorary Secretary are what’s required to cleanse the Association. Is it surprising that certain MCA members find fault with these actions. Is this the sensitivity towards the assault on women’s dignity and sensibility? This also exposes the gender insensitivity of the average Khasi male.
At a time when all eyes are on the MCA and the allegations of sexual harassment spanning a long period, a video surfaced showing a young woman being publicly assaulted and kicked on the head as she collapsed on the road near the Nongstoin bypass on June 28. The video was perhaps uploaded on June 29. It appears the attacker is the young woman’s estranged husband. But what should shame the society is that there were many onlookers to that brutal scene but none to take on the attacker. The fact that someone recorded this heinous act and later posted it on Instagram is indicative of where our empathy lies. The comments following thereafter also blame the woman for her manner of dressing etc. And that’s where the rub lies. This is a society that judges women harshly and believes that women dressed in a certain way deserve to be kicked around and shamed publicly.Both cases – the MCA women’s team and the woman assaulted in full public view highlight a broader concern in Meghalaya that violence against women in intimate relationships often remains unreported until a particularly serious incident—or, as in this case, a video—brings it into public view. The legal process will now depend on the evidence collected by investigators and the victim’s statement, rather than on the viral video alone. Matriliny deserves a reality check!
