Former Olympic swimmer Yasuko Tajima appears tonight on the exotic travel show, "Sekai Ururun Taizaiki (World Sojourn)" (TBS, 10 p.m.), the program on which she made her showbiz debut last year.
For that show, she went to Iceland and lived on a farm for a week. Tajima's destination this time is Nepal, specifically the Terai Plain, where the Tharu live. The Tharu are a matriarchal society that once dwelt in Rajasthan, where they belonged to one of the higher castes. In the 16th century, the Tharu fought a war and were driven from their land into Nepal. Almost all the men were killed in battle. The only remaining males were servants, but in order to perpetuate the tribe, the womenfolk married them.
As a result, the Tharu are now a matriarchy. In all marital and economic matters, women are the sole decision-makers. Women decide who will do what work and when they will do it. A woman can divorce her husband, but a man cannot divorce his wife. And if a couple does get divorced, the woman can remarry but the man cannot. During meals, men eat after the women do.
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