What's in a name?

Maasai women are known to be one of the groups of people with the least rights on this Earth. They have a very low value in the economic system of the Maasai and it is seldom that a husband would be willing to sell a goat to get money for the wife's doctors' visit when she is sick. They even get only second-quality food and are sometimes stunted in growth compared to the men!

Yet, in other ways, they have more rights than women of other ethnic groups living in Tanzania. They build the family huts, which means they have ownership rights to their homes. Under special circumstances, when there is no adult man in the family, they can even change their sex! They need to do a ritual ceremony in which they take over a new, male name (hence identity) and from that point on they are allowed to take part in the men's meetings and decision making. How about that!