The land property is owned by men but it passes through women. Though the women do not inherit any land from their paternal family, the land of the husband becomes the wife’s property; it passes down to her sons or to the man who marries her after her husband’s death or imprisonment. This is seen in the novel, when Budei Toki waits for seven long years for her imprisoned husband Bagla Bindhu without remarrying to keep her promise to him of guarding his land and property so that he won’t be losing everything when he returns from prison. While, this is the nature of the economic status of women, the social institutions give them a liberal status compared to the mainstream society.
Social Status of Women:
The social status of women in the mainstream
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The Bonda has a unique marriage practice: The women of the tribe are obliged to choose younger boys, mostly half their age, to marry. However, the women have full right to choose her husband provided he wins her heart and shows bravery. But the responsibilities of the women skyrocket with marriage and it could be seen as the price they pay for liberty they get in choosing a husband. Though, through the liberty of choosing the husband, the women exercise their rights, it is short lived since they have the responsibility of being the provider for the entire family. The Bonda women need to work without any rest till their old age, hence they choose a young husband so that they could have someone to support them in their old age. They do not marry with sexual/ marital happiness as their primary objective, as marriage implies added responsibility and the burden of starting a house which takes lot of women’s time and a toll on her body. However Bonda marriages are seen as the union of two souls and the concept of separation is highly unusual and Bonda marriages sustain till the death of any one