There lived a Mongol woman named Kutulan.

She lived with her husband, a great

warrior, in Mongol-controlled China. She

was very happy with her life.

Kuluan lived in the society of the Mongols, a fierce nomadic group

of people. The Mongols constantly traveled in order to conquer more land. They took

their homes with them when they traveled.

Kutulan was an important part of her society. She had individual rights and was respected by others. Some of her friends even went into battle with the men! Life was going good for Kutulan.

In the Mongol households women took most of the control, and some women even

owned their own house. Compared to other societies the Mongol women had the most

freedom, similar to other nomadic cultures.

There lived a Chinese woman named Chi Guo. She lived with her husband’s

family and her first son.

Chi Guo lived in the Chinese society, even though it was controlled by the

Mongols. After taking over China the Mongols allowed the Chinese to keep their traditions. So Chi Guo followed

her ancestor’s Confucian practices.

Tradition encouraged complete male authority over women. Each household was male-orientated, although women did have small social gatherings. Women also practiced foot binding, a complicated process of deforming their feet for “beauty.”

After seeing the Mongol women’s freedom, Chi Guo was not happy with how she was treated. She decided to talk to a Mongol about what makes

their society so free.

One day, soon after her decision to confront a Mongol, Chi Guo found

Kutulan in an open market and decided to speak with her.

Kutulan agreed to talk with Chi Guo and help.

They each explained their culture and their background story. It turns out

that they are not so different after all!

Both women could – if they really wanted to – divorce their husbands or get them in trouble for mistreatment.

They also enjoy all kinds of art in their society, and actively follow traditions.

Chi Guo and Kutulan became close friends,

even though their cultures were very different. They

respected each other’s culture and were able to discuss the injustices of both. Each encouraged

the other to be optimists about life.