Kohima, May 13 (MExN): Questions of patriarchy, gender justice, customary practices, kinship, and women’s agency in Naga society came under focus during a panel discussion organised by the Naga Scholars’ Association on May 9 under the theme “Gender, Power, and Resistance: Confronting Patriarchy in Naga Contexts.”
Delivering the keynote address, Prof Ajaliu Niumai of the University of Hyderabad said that patriarchy in the Naga context is not merely a women’s issue, but one connected to broader questions of democracy, justice, citizenship, representation, and human dignity.
While Naga society may outwardly appear less restrictive in comparison to some other societies, she cautioned against equating visibility with equality, arguing that deeply embedded structures of gendered power continue to operate beneath the surface.
Prof Niumai highlighted three broad areas where patriarchy continues to operate. The first concerned customary laws, clan structures, inheritance systems, and political institutions, where she noted that gendered citizenship often remains embedded in traditional structures. The second focused on religion and the role of church institutions.
While acknowledging the central role of Christianity in Naga social life, she noted that churches often function as moral and social regulators. At the same time, she pointed to emerging spaces of resistance through women theologians, women-led prayer movements, and gender justice conversations within church forums.
The third area centred on women’s resistance and intervention, where she highlighted the role of organisations such as the Naga Mothers' Association and other civil society bodies in challenging exclusion and reinterpreting customs as dynamic rather than fixed. She encouraged women to document their experiences and contribute to academic writing and public scholarship.
In the first panel presentation on “Rethinking Naga Kinship,” Kinriwiliu Ringkangmai of Johns Hopkins University questioned long-held anthropological and colonial interpretations of Naga society as strictly patrilineal, patrilocal, and egalitarian, arguing that such frameworks often fail to capture the complexities of lived gender relations.
Drawing from oral traditions and origin myths, including narratives from the Ao community, the presentation explored alternative understandings of kinship that foreground women’s roles in lineage and ancestry but have often been marginalised in dominant historical narratives.
The second panelist, Schulu Duo of Ashoka University, examined the lived experiences of Naga women through folk songs, ethnographic observations, and cultural theory. Duo argued that many women continue to occupy unstable spaces of belonging, especially after marriage and relocation from their natal homes.
Through examples drawn from Chakhesang, Mao, Poumai, and Maram folk traditions, the presentation highlighted recurring themes of emotional displacement, loneliness, and resistance. The discussion also linked these narratives to broader questions of identity, citizenship, and gendered belonging.
The third presentation was delivered by Dr Stuti Mamen, who examined “Gendered Spatial Arrangements” in the context of Nocte and Wancho communities in Arunachal Pradesh.
