Mrs Yaji and the Lockdown: The Plight of a Nyishi Woman in a Patriarchal Society
Women from the Northeast are often perceived to be freer than their counterparts in the rest of India. But the customary laws and practices of their tribes are far from empowering.
Mrs Yaji. Photo: Ngurang Reena
NR
: You and your children left for your motherâs house before the lockdown. Why? And why have you returned now?
Mrs Yaji:
 Because I know the devastating consequences of polygyny, I cannot abandon my children to this fate. And just like my mother and sisters, I have been replaced by another woman. He had promised he would never bring her home and I believed him. Look what happened now, he betrayed me. I have returned for my children.   Â
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