Mehtab Chandee, Conrad Sangma's wife, explains how power dynamics function in a matrilineal household

4 trail-blazing women and their individual stories of struggles and multifarious challenges on being recognised as being the better halves of their influential husbands. Popular and dynamic in their own right, these women have carved a niche in the field of Business, Art, Culture, and Literature -- beyond the shadow of their super spouses.
So what challenges did these women face or are facing on being identified as the better half of their popular husbands?

Speaking at the fifth edition of India Today Conclave East – 2022, Dr. Rita Chowdhury cited how confusing and difficult it was for her to be constantly rebuked, identified as Assam Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary’s wife. 
There have been multiple times when people tried to break her and pull her down using her husband’s name.

‘’Initially it was very painful, but I have learnt to ignore it,’’ quipped Dr. Chowdhury.

‘’There were offers for me to join politics. Corridor of power is very temporary. I was unhappy when he joined politics as I didn’t want him to do so. But then it was his personal decision and I have learned to accept it,’’ added Dr Chowdhury.

Dr Chowdhury has never allowed her self respect to be hurt or being meddled with in any form. She continued to pursue her academic venture as a professor, and the writer and is happy that she has carved an identity sans her husband’s backing. 

Still, she is not left out of any ridicule whenever she wins an award for her books, where many criticize her of using her husband’s political affiliation to win the award. Dr. Chowdhury now ignores all these comments and ridicule and continue to work for the community which she has been doing since the Assam agitation days as a student activist. 

Equally supportive of notching one’s own identity is Dr. Mehtab Chandee, wife of Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma who thinks living one’s life humbly is the principal factor for balanced family life.

Hailing from Meghalaya where the matrilineal family line is the social norm, it has never been problematic for her to support her husband in the political arena. Apart from handling businesses, Dr Chandee also has an equal say in her husband’s political territory, yet she respects her husband’s decision and balances out their responsibilities in a mutual manner. 

‘’I am a farmer too. I was 14 years old when I started my journey in films and have featured in 29 commercial films,’’ says Actress Aimee Baruah, who likes to identify herself as a farmer-philanthropist who works tirelessly for the society.

On being asked about her struggles and sacrifices she made after getting married to Asam Minister Pijush Hazarika when she was at the pinnacle of her career in the Assamese film industry, the diva shyly says her husband has been her ardent fan. 

It is never an easy path after being associated as a minister’s wife, but Aimee Baruah has created her own identity and believes that one’s identity is personified by one’s work and not by whom you are associated with.
Actress Arpita Chatterjee in a brief monologue said that she has never allowed her husband’s popularity to override her identity. While maintaining her self-respect, Arpita has in fact supported her husband in building his career by providing mental stability while venturing into the business field. 

After channeling her entrepreneurial skills, Arpita Chatterjee decided to look beyond and thus she started the new phase of her life which she terms it as – The Awakening. She returned back to acting while balancing her entrepreneurial responsibilities and supporting her actor-husband Prosenjit Chatterjee.