The Mask of Strength

Rewriting Masculinity in Naga Society

Abstract

Patriarchy in the Naga context is intricately woven into customary laws and social norms, as well as the powerful influence of Christian missionary legacy. Despite the outward appearance of equality in community life, deeper structural biases persist. However, patriarchy is a learned and internalised set of beliefs, not just a male-driven agenda. Thus, focusing on systems allows men to be allies in dismantling patriarchy and creates space for accountability without demonisation, encouraging men and women to work together toward gender justice. The essay also addresses the erasure of mal victims. Recognising female-perpetrated abuse and male victimhood is not a rejection of feminist legal gains, but a logical extension of feminist ethics that include autonomy and accountability. An ethical society must protect all victims while dismantling the power structures that enable violence in the first place. Thus, the paper attempts to understand how patriarchy simultaneously privileges and represses all genders in qualitatively different ways, highlighting both its internal contradictions and its pervasive grip on human identity. It reconsiders patriarchy not merely as a gendered structure but as a humanist concern. What it does not suggest is a moral equivalence between male emotional repression and female structural oppression. Reimagining masculinity must emerge from
within—through reinterpretation of customary norms, stories, and ntraditions. Ultimately, breaking patriarchy is about creating a world  where people are free to be their full selves without fear or shame.