The priest of the Catholic Church here has lived in Malawi over 40 years.  He ate dinner with all of the volunteers and taught us all about Malawian culture.  I did not know that Malawi is a matriarchal country.  When a woman marries, the man joins her village.  If children are born, they belong to the woman’s family and the children’s uncle is largely responsible for them.  Women here are ridiculously tough!  They carry huge loads of firewood in their arms, giant buckets of water on their heads, and a baby on their back- all at once!  Women raise the children, cook and work in the field.  The men (as in comparison to years ago when they merely “supervised) now spend time everyday working in the fields.  Often in rural communities, men sleep in the beds and women have the floor.  Life is improving for women, but at the rate of a snail.