Are the women of Kung oppressed or controlled by men? Are men "dominated" by the women? Why?

In her book
Nisa, anthropologist Marjorie Shostak studies the life of the !Kung, one of
the last remaining tribes to subsist on hunting and gathering, rather than agriculture. In her
interviews with members of this tribe, who live in the Kalahari Desert, Shostak found that the
women did the majority of gathering food, which constituted most of what the people ate, while
the men did the hunting. The women were considered important to the tribe's survival, and there
was a great deal of equality between men and women. For example, men helped the women with
gathering, and members of both genders carried out child-rearing tasks.

It is
more difficult to figure out whether women are considered equal in marriage and sexual
relationships among the !Kung. Nisa, the subject of the book, tells Shostak about her many
lovers and affairs outside of marriage, and taking lovers seems widespread in the tribe. Nisa is
unrepentant about having lovers. However, men are also allowed to beat their wives for taking
lovers. One of Nisa's daughters is killed for having an affair. Therefore, while there is some
equality between men and women, women in the tribe are also subjected to great violence. In some
ways, the women of the tribe are oppressed by the men, but women also are able to show freedom
of choice (though they do not dominate the men).