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Herlands

Lessons From Societies Where Women Make the Rules

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Herlands

By: Megha Mohan
Narrated by: Megha Mohan
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Brought to you by Penguin.

A landmark exploration of women-led communities worldwide and what they can teach us about new ways to live, think and govern, from BBC global correspondent Megha Mohan.

Society isn’t working for women - or any of us.

But what if the rules were different?

Imagine a world in which women have all the power. A world in which they work together to shape their societies and their futures.

In reality, women's communities have always existed, and continue to thrive. In this vital and ground-breaking book, Megha Mohan goes in search of their roots, discovering a vibrant global history, brought together here for the first time. She also takes us into today's women-led spaces, where women live on their own terms, showing us how we can rethink society for new ways of living, working and collaborating.

Through extensive research and exclusive first-hand reporting and inspired by her great-grandmother’s own matrilineal community in South India, Mohan introduces us to fascinating and diverse groups of women. From the controversial feminist online trolls of South Korea to older women co-housing in Paris and North London and the Rain Queens of South Africa, this is a truly global look at women's community.

Essential reading for anyone interested in our collective histories, cultures, economics and governance, Herlands shows the power and possibility of new ways of living - and leading - for us all.

'An inspiration for the future' GLORIA STEINEM
'Much-needed and compassionate' MARY ROBINSON
'Fascinating' DIPO FALOYIN
'A must-read' MARCUS RYDER

© Megha Mohan 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Anthropology Gender Studies Social Sciences Women Inspiring Africa
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Critic reviews

Essential reading for anyone who has wondered what a matriarchy would look like
An expansive survey of women-only spaces all over the world… thoroughly researched and intelligently reported
Vibrant and richly drawn… [Mohan] is a skilled storyteller and interviewer
Since history is often literally His Story, it’s a helpful corrective to have books like Herlands that are about women who have always tried to control our own destinies. Herlands is a valuable introduction to some of them, an inspiration for the future (Gloria Steinem, writer and activist)
The best of journalism: asking different questions; telling us stories we haven’t heard before; telling them so well. Megha Mohan takes us with her on her fascinating journey into women’s spaces the world over, providing insights and inspiration we all need now (Lyse Doucet, BBC's Chief International Correspondent)
Herlands is a much-needed and compassionate reflection on how different we could be if more women had the freedom to design their own environments (Mary Robinson, first woman President of Ireland)
Brilliant. A compassionate and incisive journalist, Mohan has set a new gold standard for modern feminist writing (Monisha Rajesh, author of Moonlight Express)
A refreshing, intelligent work of journalism, memoir and truth, this book gives me hope (Afua Hirsch, broadcaster and author of Decolonising My Body)
A deeply fascinating and wonderfully researched exploration of community that will broaden every reader's mind (Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not A Country)
A must-read that challenges prevailing narratives and sparks vital conversations about women's roles across cultures (Marcus Ryder, journalist and co-author of The Big Payback)
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