The discussion about the status of women in patriarchal and matriarchal societies shows that nowhere the status of women is compulsorily low or high. However, as a general rule, in comparison to patriarchal societies, the status of women is high in matriarchal societies.
There is no custom of matrilocal residence in all the matriarchal societies. For example, in Khasi matriarchal society the male establishes separate residence with his wife after marriage. On the other hand, even in some patriarchal societies some sons-in-law settle in the house of their in-laws.
As a general rule the more restrictions on women, the lower is their status in society. But in this respect also there in no dearth of exceptions.
In many patriarchal societies also one finds a lot of difference in the status of women. For example, the Nagas of Assam are patriarchal but among them, the status of women in Seema Nagas is higher than that among Ao and Angami Nagas. The Seema woman has a voice in deciding her mate.
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She enjoys a higher status in the house of her husband. In some societies where women have economic rights equal to the male rights, their status is not necessarily higher since sometimes they have to share the male activities in addition to the female burden.
In fact, rights alone do not determine the status of women. It also depends upon the male’s behavior towards them. Besides this, they have also importance as mothers. Hence in many societies barren women are very much neglected. Tribes which have been influenced by Hindu scriptures accord a lower status to women than those who were not so influenced.
In order to evaluate the status of a woman in tribal society, one has to consider her economic and political status besides her social status. The status of woman is known from her status in the family, the rights and duties of husband and wife, premarital rights and duties of a daughter, etc. If exceptions are left aside, the status of women in tribal societies is generally not lower than that of the male.
The rights of son and daughter are generally the same and both enjoy freedom of movement. Among the tribes where there are dormitories, boys and girls both live in dormitories and though their functions may be somewhat different, there is hardly” any difference in their status. The tribal woman has generally a free choice in the selection of a mate.
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Similarly, the rules of divorce are similar for both the male and female. Due to the custom of couvades the male also has to suffer during the period of pregnancy. Concerning freedom about sexual relationships there is no distinction among male and female.
Along with the social status, the economic status of the tribal woman is also not lower than that of the male. In productive activities, agriculture, animal husbandary, etc. male and female work together. Generally, the male’s work is harder than that of the female. In hunting tribes the males go out for hunting while the females perform domestic jobs.
All the work is done by mutual cooperation and if there is no love or cooperation marital relationships are dissolved. Thus the tribal woman has no occasion to suffer and face torture within the four walls of her home living as a slave of her husband like her so many civilized sisters. Her status here is certainly better.
So far as political rights are concerned, the tribal woman’s status is not lower though her rights are less than that of the male, since in tribal life there is more emphasis upon duties than rights in the political sphere.
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The tribal chief has so many rights but then he has also the burden of the protection of the tribe. If he fails to carry out this burden he cannot hold the nigh office of the chief. In fact political power among tribals is gained by physical strength and the power of arms.
Therefore naturally, males enjoy better political rights. But there are some tribal societies in which political power lies in the hands of women. In brief, the status of women in tribal societies is no less than that of men.