'Walking Marriages': Freedom And Independence For Women In Southwestern China

I was surprised to find this piece about a Chinese matriarchal society in Marie Claire magazine, which points out the benefits as well as the dangers that women in a matriarchal community in China might face. 

According to this long-read, the Mosuo are the last matrilineal society in China and one of only a few left in the world.

Their customs are also probably different from what we would call a 'matrilineal society' in the West.

Here women practice a custom called "walking marriage," in which men live separately from their wives and children. It is also one of the few places in China where families prefer girls to boys, which has earned the region the nickname of Kingdom of Daughters. They believe that everything vital comes from a woman and that they are intellectually superior to men. Women are also in charge of land ownership and finances.

The Mosuo matriarchal society is probably the best known, but it is not the only one. In Indonesia, Ghana or India there are also big communities with women-centric traditions.

But perhaps one of the more fascinating things to me is that in Mosuo language there are no words for husband or jealousy, and neither for murder or rape.

All this, however, is being threatened by tourists.