"Girls Rule in an Indian Village"

"The series makes obvious these girls enjoy lots of freedom.

“In the Khasi culture,” Ms. Klüppel said in an email interview, “women and girls have a special standing in the society and, of course, this exceptional role ‘produces’ a great self-confidence. I did not want to do a classical documentary on their culture, but tried to capture this outstanding role somehow. I decided to make a portrait series of the girls because I was so impressed by their self-assured appearance and thought this must be how matriliny becomes visible.”

In Khasi culture, the youngest girl in a family inherits its wealth and property, and children take their mother’s surname. Having only boys is hard luck. Khasi women marry whom they want — no arranged marriages there — and divorce or chose to remain single with no stigma...

she wanted to capture how the girls’ behavior demonstrated their power. “For me, their culture just got visible through their behavior and I tried to capture that,” she said."
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/girls-rule-in-an-indian-village/

Ahh, that's so fascinating. It's funny, how encountering a counter example entirely changes an understanding of a cultural practice. Why is the whole first-born-son thing such a standard?

When I've thought about it, I've begrudgingly acknowledged the ways it makes sense - but it's obviously not the only thing. And this is obviously a practice that has ended, but what current practices are we just kinda accepting?