Caste-based prostitution
In Caste-based prostitution,[1][2][3] women of certain castes are traditionally involved in the sex industry.
History[edit]
In India, lower caste groups associated with prostitution include the Banchhada, the Bedias,[4] the Perna caste [5] and the Nat caste. It is believed that such groups were often nomadic in the past and settled into small villages which were to be known as "Prostitute villages". During the colonial period, such groups were often classified as "criminal tribes" under the Criminal Tribes Act, and often lost their traditional sources of income, such as dancers, under the resulting persecution which forced the women to adopt prostitution.[6] Even though they are now termed Denotified and Nomadic Tribes of India (DNTs), they are still more commonly known to mainstream society as "Criminal Tribes".[7]
In Nepal, the Badi people are known to be traditionally involved with prostitution.[8][9] After the 14th century, the Badis received land and money for providing concubines to small-time rulers in western Nepal. After 1950, local royalty lost power in a pro-democracy movement. Thus, the Badis saw their clientele disappear and they eventually turned to prostitution.[10]
Current practice[edit]
A social activist speculated that in India, there might be an estimated 100,000 lower-caste women and girls work in prostitution.[11] This practice is most concentrated in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.[12]
Among the Bacchara, according to Monalika Tiwari, a social worker with the organization Jan Sahas, men are generally not expected to work, while at least one girl in most families is expected to become a prostitute instead of getting married.[2] Girls are married or enter sex work between 10 and 12,[1] and most turn into sex work before they are 18.[3] While boys are often preferred to girls in the country, with sex-selective abortions causing a skewed gender ratio, the birth of girls among some low-caste villages built around prostitution is celebrated as the arrival of future breadwinners. They are groomed by their own families into prostitution often from birth with reports of younger girls stowed under beds to observe others at work.[11] The younger the girl, the higher the price tends to be for sexual services.[12] Among the Perna caste, girls are married after puberty and are physically abused if they then resist going into prostitution by their in-laws, who expect their son's wife to contribute to the family finances.[7] Among the Bedia, girls are introduced to the profession soon as they reach puberty.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A Girl on the Highway". Indian Express. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "How the caste system forces women into prostitution". Public Radio International. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "This highway is home to MP's Dalit Sex Workers". The Quint. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rana, U., Sharma, D. & Ghosh, D. Prostitution in northern Central India: an ethnographical study of Bedia community. Int. j. anthropol. ethnol. 4, 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-020-0027-5
- ↑ "INSIDE INDIA'S PERNA CASTE, WHERE WOMEN ARE ROUTINELY PROSTITUTED BY THEIR IN-LAWS". Pacific Standard Magazine. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ↑ "Nat Purwa: Where prostitution is a tradition". Al Jazeera. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Prabhu, Maya (28 November 2016). "The Indian caste where wives are forced into sex work". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ "Nepal's Badi community finds itself in a bottomless pit of despair". Kathmandu Post. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ↑ "Caste System Binds Nepalese Prostitutes". New York Times. 11 April 2004. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ↑ "Badi women of Nepal are trapped in a life of degradation". Los Angeles Times. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Safi, Michael (14 January 2019). "The Indian village where child sexual exploitation is the norm". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "India: The Child Sex Highway". Al Jazeera. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
External Links[edit]
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