Temple Prostitution in India - An Exploitative Practice in the Name of Religion

21 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2024

Date Written: January 19, 2024

Abstract

The practice of 'marrying' young girls of lower castes to gods and goddesses is one of the oldest cultural practices in India. This practice is called the devadasi system in which minor girls belonging to the Scheduled Castes are sexually exploited by temple priests and other high caste men in the name of religion. The term 'devadasi' is a Sanskrit word which means 'female slave of God'. The devadasi system is also seen as religious sanctioned prostitution in India. Despite the practice being abolished by various state legislations in India, there are approximately more than 48,000 devadasis in the country according to the data by the National Commission for Women in New Delhi. Per the National Human Rights Commission, the state of Andhra Pradesh alone recorded over 25,000 devadasis in 2015 with girls as young as 12 years pushed into prostitution in the nearby states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. This paper therefore aims to highlight the reasons behind this social evil (often referred to as an organised prostitution) considering the broader interconnections between law and religion.

Keywords: Prostitution, Devadasi, India, Religion, Hinduism, Caste, Violence, Gender, Human Rights, Gender Based Violence

Suggested Citation

Anand, Amit, Temple Prostitution in India - An Exploitative Practice in the Name of Religion (January 19, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4887242 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4887242

Amit Anand (Contact Author)

REVA University ( email )

Rukmini Knowledge Park, Kattigenahalli, Yelahanka
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064
India

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