Published On:Thursday, April 3, 2014
Posted by Unknown
Welcome to the Indian ‘Bride Bazar’, where daughters are ‘sold’ as brides!
New Delhi: In a patriarchal society like India, women are forced to play second fiddle to males as far as family, property and marriages are concerned.
Dowry, though banned by law in India, is still prevalent in large swathes of the Indian countryside, and parents of marriageable girls go through daytime nightmares to locate a suitable groom for their daughters.
There is a reverse trend too. Overaged males offer to "buy" brides, when they fail to get women to marry.
Poor parents are often forced to sell their daughters in the guise of marriage, as was the case nearly four centuries ago, when both male and female slaves used to be sold at slave bazaars.
There are four major reasons behind this gruesome trade in human trafficking:
1. Skewed male-female ratio: Seems like Indians are now paying for their skewed male-female ratio.
In states like Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and western UP, marriageable brides are just not available.
Men of marriageable age then hunt for brides from other states. Naturally, most of these "brides" hail from poor families from eastern and northeastern states.
These "brides", which are bought by men in these states, are used as servants in the households.
They are also used to give birth to offsprings to keep the genealogical tree alive. These women are never considered part of the male's society, and after they are "used" they are simply left to remain like second-class citizens.
In states like Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and western UP, marriageable brides are just not available.
Men of marriageable age then hunt for brides from other states. Naturally, most of these "brides" hail from poor families from eastern and northeastern states.
These "brides", which are bought by men in these states, are used as servants in the households.
They are also used to give birth to offsprings to keep the genealogical tree alive. These women are never considered part of the male's society, and after they are "used" they are simply left to remain like second-class citizens.
2. Illegal sale of girls: One such racket was busted by Haryana Police in 2011. The gang used to sell teenage girls as brides to middle aged men in exchange for money.
These girls were first abducted by gangs and then sold to their clients.
Shockingly, these girls, often younger than 15, were subjected to the worst form of slavery. They performed household chores all day and then had to become sexual victims of over-aged men at night.
3. Poor families and unemployment: Though it should not be one of the reasons for families to sell off their daughters in exchange for money. But yes, it is true, below poverty line families have many times been booked for selling off their daughters in other cities to rich people in exchange for good amount of money.
The reason such parents are forced to sell their daughters is because they are in dire need of money to look after their families.
4. Prostitution rackets: Several times police have tracked and busted prostitution rackets where middlemen and women sell girls to multiple clients in the guise of marriage and receive handsome amount of money from them.
This trade of selling and buying of girls like commodities has been going on for years now. Such activities are more prominent in small town and villages. Such racketeers indulge in flesh trade by targeting small town girls.
