India: thousands of children as young as four are sold to Hindu temples for sexual exploitation
Many people say that human trafficking is modern day slavery. But, in some parts of the world, human trafficking remains as a form of an ongoing tradition, which is used to oppress women and children for centuries. In India, for instance, many women and children are sold to Hindu temples as prostitutes under the religious practice named "Devadasi." Though these children are nominally dedicated to goddess under Devadasi tradition, Devadasi, in actuality, allows the priests and rich upper caste class men to sexually exploit children in the name of religion.
Caste system in India: ongoing method of oppression
Though India is democratic country, where the Constitution guarantees equal rights of all people, India still very much embraces a caste system. Dalits or untouchable people, therefore, continue to be subject to discrimination by the society. According to the 2006 survey on 565 villages in 11 states, Dalits are not only prevented from entering the police station but also Dalits children in some villages ate separately from the children from upper caste class in government schools.
What's more, sexual violence against Dalit girls has been used as a method that the upper caste class members use to oppress Dalits people. Dalits girls also are often forced to have sex with village landowners. If Dalits families fail to pay off debts to the landowners, the Dalits families are asked to give up their daughters' virginity to the landowners in order to pay off their remaining debts. Moreover, upper caste men sometimes use sexual violence or rape of Dalits women as a means to convey a political message that they would not allow any Dalits to disrupt existing social structure of caste system.
Devadasis: another means to exploit Dalits children
Dalits girls therefore experience the worst discrimination in Indian society because of their gender and membership to the lower caste class. Hence, it is not surprising to see that these girls as young as four years old are sold to Hindu temples for sexual exploitation. When a Dalits girl is dedicated as Devadasi at a temple, she becomes the property of a patron. A patron is often a wealthy upper caste class man. After a patron secures the right to spend the first night with the Devadasi, he can choose to either continue or discontinue the relationship with the Devadasi for a fixed period of time. But if the patron continues the liaison with Devadasi, he often cares for the Devadasis's poor families. For this reason, experts say that many poor families are encouraged to dedicate their children as Devadasi.
Abandoned and thrown away by the patron
But, once the patron loses his interest in his Devastasi, she is abandoned by the patron. Because a patron has no obligation to maintain his relationship with his Devastasi, he can cease his role as her patron whenever he wants. Many Devastasis, therefore, are thrown away by their patrons when the Devastasis get older or no longer look desirable in the eyes of the patrons. One former Devastasi testifies her experience as follows:
My [patron] gave me money and rice. After one year I had a child, a baby boy. Soon after that, he dumped me. I went to Bombay for construction work to support my child. When I returned to the village another fellow called Raghav was very nice to me. He said to my father: ‘I will protect her.’ I became pregnant again and had a girl. But he left me after six years”
Recommendation
Advocates recommend a few things to improve the lives of women sold as Devastasis. They argue that the tradition of devastasis should be limited while raising awareness against the practice among the village communities. The programs to improve these women's livelihood include leadership training, financial advice, and support for these women to give them strength to stand up for their rights regardless of the oppression imposed on them by the society. However, educating these women alone will not break this vicious cycle perpetuating in the society. The Indian government must rectify the flawed areas of its political structure, which causes many poor families to continuously exploit their daughters. Perhaps, they should start with prosecuting and penalizing upper caste member patrons who rape Dalit girls for their pleasure while preventing Dalits families from selling their daughters for sexual exploitation.
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