I recently watched a documentary on BBC4 about the Devadasi girls in India. I was quite shocked and literally speechless. It is a common practise within the Dalit communities to devote their young daughter to one of the many gods/goddesses. This in turn means the girl is never allowed to get married and once she hits puberty is sold continuously throughout her life as a prostitute.
What I would like to understand is, If the young girl is not allowed to marry as she is God's servant or in some cases married to God and therefore cannot be tied to anyone else. How can she be sold as a prostitute? Surely, that must be more insulting to God.
What is more disturbing is that most of these girls are forced into this due to family pressures and more often than not their mothers had been in the same position when they were younger, yet these mothers wish the same punishment on them. I guess this quote is quite apt " A woman's biggest enemy is another woman".
From a Human Rights perspective though, I really do wonder why the Indian government and some authorities in the country assume that this practise has been abolished? Yes it is illegal and has been for over 60 years. So why is this constant exploitation of Women and Children in the name of religion still occurring?
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