Photos of a Matrilineal Society in India

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Photos of a Matrilineal Society in India

In some Indian communities, families are leaving inheritances to their youngest daughters and giving their children the mother's surname.

In the Northeast state of Meghalaya in India, many women live in matrilineal societies. Where many Indian families leave inheritances to men, the youngest daughter inherits possessions, children take their mother's surname, and husbands move into their in-law's homes in much of Meghalaya. The women experience more freedom and respect than they do in the rest of the country. Photographer Elena del Estal visited Meghalaya and took portraits of women and their children.

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