A live salon exploring matriarchies, power and new ways of living, with Megha Mohan and Sian Norris.
What if the rules were different?
If the systems shaping how we live are starting to feel unequal, extractive or simply not working, what other ways might be possible?
Join BBC global correspondent and author Megha Mohan, in conversation with journalist and author Sian Norris, for the first in a new HYFYV salon series, Let’s Talk About…
Inspired by Megha’s groundbreaking book Herlands, this evening explores women-led communities around the world — past and present — and what they might teach us about new ways to live, think and govern.
BOOK
Drawing on global reporting and first-hand research, Megha takes us from matrilineal communities in South India to the Rain Queens of South Africa, from feminist resistance movements in South Korea to women’s co-housing communities closer to home. Her work uncovers a global history that has often been overlooked and asks what these models might offer us now.
What is a matriarchy?
Crucially, matriarchy isn’t about putting men down or taking over. It isn’t patriarchy in reverse. It points to something else entirely: a different way of organising life.
Rather than a rigid hierarchy, matriarchies suggest something more shared and relational. They aren't about dominance, but about balance.
In many of these societies, the focus shifts towards care, kinship, collective wellbeing and the long view: what sustains a community across generations, rather than who sits at the top of it.
And, as Megha argues, these societies have always existed. We have simply not been taught to see them.
Why this conversation?
Megha Mohan brings a rare global perspective, grounded in deep reporting and lived history, uncovering alternative models of power and community across cultures.
Sian Norris, senior investigations reporter at openDemocracy and author of Bodies Under Siege, brings a sharp political lens, tracing how power operates today, from the global rollback of reproductive rights to the rise of far-right movements. Her reporting spans the UK, Ukraine, Kenya, Bangladesh and across Europe, for publications including The Guardian, The Observer, The Times and i news.
Together, they offer something powerful:
a conversation that moves between what is and what could be.
Between the realities of power now, and the possibilities of organising it differently.
What we'll explore
What can women-led communities teach us now?
What have dominant histories obscured about matriarchal traditions?
How do different societies understand power, care and leadership?
What might more balanced ways of living actually look like in practice?
The evening at a glance
Part author conversation, part audience discussion, part social salon.
Conversation: a live discussion between Megha Mohan and Sian Norris
Salon Q&A and open discussion
Questions, reflections and shared thinking
Drinks, mingling and book signing afterwards
Time to stay, talk and continue the conversation informally
Come alone or bring a friend. Stay to talk. Stay to, who knows, even form a few matriarchies...
You can read more about the event or book tickets here.