Indian “prostitute village” marries girls to end flesh trade

Hundreds of guests from surrounding villages and government officials gathered at the colourful event, which saw seven couples getting married and 15 others engaged in a huge marquee in the village of Wadia, located in the Banaskantha district of India's western Gujarat state.

With several girls stepping into the new dawn of their lives, a wave of exuberance and cheer appeared to have engulfed the quaint village. Women, men and children of all ages were seen celebrating the occasion in courtyards, as the young brides got dressed in colourful traditional attire and jewellery.

Several district officials and activists also gathered at the event, to give the couples and engaged girls their blessings.

The collector of Banaskantha district, J. B. Vohra, said that the mass wedding marked a new era for the people of Wadia.

"Fifteen girls of this village are getting engaged here, while seven couples are getting married. It is a very happy occasion for all of us. A change has come in this village. We welcome this new era of their lives," Vohra said.

Adorned in gold jewellery and dressed in brightly coloured pink sequinned skirts and blouses, the girls sat veiled on a raised platform in a long line next to their grooms and fiancés in golden turbans, as a Hindu priest chanted Vedic mantras.

The District Development Officer, Vijay Bhatt, said the girls--hailing from the Saraniya community, where women traditionally work as prostitutes in nearby towns and cities -- would now be able to break free from the profession of their mothers and lead normal lives.

"The thing is, very I mean, funnily, they have been in this indecent profession for ages together. It is not today, ages together. Any attempt, you know, to intervene into that will have some impact, and the very first thing that what we just located was, that once a girl is wedded, she is out of the profession," said Vijay Bhatt, Development Officer for Banaskantha.

The men of the Saraniya community -- a nomadic group of 50,000 -- once worked for various warring factions which ruled over this drought-prone region prior to India's independence from Britain in 1947, sharpening their daggers and swords.

The Saraniyas' women were "entertainers" for the feuding warlords in the then fragmented Gujarat and neighbouring state of Rajasthan, dancing and singing, as well as providing sexual pleasure for their employers.

Post independence, activists and officials say, the Saraniya were given land by the government to provide a better means of income, but due to the "easy money" made from sex work, Wadia's men have continued soliciting their sisters and daughters.

"They were never exposed to the normal society," said Maulik, a volunteer with Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch, a local charity working for the cause of India's nomadic tribes.

"They do not know what exactly is the value of life and the value of society. By the constant interaction of our staff members and our institute workers, they came to know about the society and the relationship between a normal husband and wife. Now, they can see that this kind of relationship also exists. So, they would feel that they should also lead a life like that," he added.

At the grand and colourful ceremony, musicians played the 'dhol' and 'shehnai'--the traditional Indian drum and trumpet used in weddings--as the marrying couples simultaneously placed garlands over one another and walked around a sacred fire placed in front of them, as per Hindu tradition.

Several couples as young as 12-years-old were also engaged during the ceremony, exchanging rings in the incense-filled tent, as a priest gave instructions from a microphone. Their parents said their weddings would take place when they are 18.

Social activists who organised and funded the 900,000 rupee ($18,000) event said securing the girls with future husbands would end Wadia's flesh trade.

"According to their tradition, once a girl is engaged or married, she does not return to this profession. This is certain. None of the girls can move from this position. If her husband passes away, then this concern may arise. However, while he is alive, none of them will return to their old profession," said Mittal Patel from the Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch.

Patel added that no woman wanted to enter prostitution by choice, and stressed the need to bring in more development to ensure other girls did not become sex workers.