Victims of Religious Practices
Dalit women are also the victims of specific social customs and religious practices. Some of these customs include the devadasi/jogini system (temple prostitution). In this system, Dalit girls are married to a village god by their parents. These girls are then sexually exploited by the landlords and rich men of the village. According to K.A. Geetha (2020) in the Dalit community, economic survival is the main reason that parents dedicate their daughters as devadasis17 , “The remuneration that the family receives in return for the dedication serves as potential bait for poor communities” (69). Besides, there are several other reasons too. If the village has suffered a drought, there is a widespread belief that the dedication of the devadasi will bring prosperity. Given their economically weaker position, Dalit girls become the obvious targets. At times, the family dedicates a girl to the temple, to be blessed with a male heir (Geetha, 2020). This system of religious sexual exploitation is found in several parts of India
17 The devdasi, was a girl who was dedicated to the temple and became a dancer, occupied a high ritual status within the temple. She owned land in her own name (Chakravarti 2018: 84). But for Dalit devdasi the situation is different.
such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa. Karnataka alone has identified close to 30,000 devadasi women (The Hindu 2016).
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Indian Feminism and Intersectionality
- Select Writings of Dalit Women
- Domestic Violence
- Public Violence
- Victims of Religious Practices
- Conclusion and Approach to Prevention
- References