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Three really interesting posts to read over Christmas. Thanks.

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Why is the first duty to the MIL? Is the patriarchy upheld by mothers?

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Yes, as mentioned in this article, each mother endures years as a daughter-in-law, so when she becomes a mother-in-law is like retirement, handing over all duties to her daughter-in-law.

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“Men may be shamed for conjugal love”. Another Zarmaganda story. Men will go to great lengths not to say the name of their father-in-law (a shame relation, because of what they are doing with FIL’s daughter). Village chief one day near Ouallam wanted to summon someone (who happened to have the same name as the chief’s FIL). Locals snickering about this as the chief was saying “hey, call that guy over here, you know who I mean” without using the guy’s name. This can be a problem when 60% of the men are named Mohamed or Boubacar.

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