Religious prostitution

Wadia is
known for being the ‘village of prostitutes’ in Gujarat,
where young girls are trained to provide sexual services
as soon as they attain puberty.

In Maharashtra, these women are made to sacrifice
their first-born daughters. When she becomes of
marriageable age, she is formally married to Khandoba,
the deity and becomes his ‘nominal wife’.
In Karnataka, there is a traditional belief that when there
is famine, drought or an epidemic, to appease gods and
goddesses, a lower-caste girl is dedicated to the local
goddess Huligamma. The Banchara, Rajnat, Dommara
and Bedia tribes in Madhya Pradesh also practice
traditional prostitution.
There has been influence of the Devadasi tradition on
the Muslim community as well. Some Muslim sects
started offering girls to dargahs . The girl is then married
to the Qu’ran. After the nikah is performed, the girl is
called a bibi and is condemned to lead a life of
prostitution.

According to the National Commission on Women of
India, it is estimated that around 2,50,000 Dalit girls are
dedicated as Devadasis to Yellamma and Khondaba
temples in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border.

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