India: Jesuit school saves girls from temple prostitution

Picture courtesy Rachel Robichaux

Fr Tim Byron writes: Their mothers were dedicated or 'married' to the Hindu Godess Yellamma at a young age. They are not allowed to marry a mortal but once they reach puberty they are bound to give service at the temple. Ancient tradition requires them to serve the temple with song, music or dance but most of them are effectively temple prostitutes.

Higher caste men come and have sex with them for as little as 20 rupees (25 pence or 40 cents). This 'dedication' was outlawed in Karnataka in 1982, and in all of India in 1988, but as one of the Jesuits puts it ' it still flourishes under the carpet'. With their mothers having children from multiple fathers, the girls can easily be abandoned and without intervention they follow the same pattern of life of their mothers. Sometimes higher castes will ensure a girl goes into devadasi service instead of the family paying debts that are owed. It is effectively a form of child trafficking and child bonded labour.

The girls are often brought to the school here by concerned neighbours who request for admission on their behalf. The devadasi girls stay in the Hostel here during the school year which removes them from the toxic environment of prostitution at home. Interestingly the Jesuits claim that they are among the higher achieving students. When we discussed why this was - whether they are more intelligent or more motivated - the consensus was that they had a burning desire to escape the life that they have seen their mothers having. The Jesuits and staff treat these girls with great sensitivity, their identity as devedasi is not known by most of the teachers and other students. This anonymity is ensured at parents meetings or evenings as the Jesuits ask for only one parent to come for all the families.

This is a striking case of how education brings liberation and social transformation. The help provided to the Devadasi community is not just restricted to education. One of the cruel facts of Devadasi life is as the women age quickly they become less sexually desirable and are abandoned. The Jesuits have been encouraging the founding of womens cooperatives, realising that on a village level it is the women who are more likely to use small loans wisely and who vlaue education more. One such group in a nearby village is constituted of Devadasis who have turned away from prostitution. A very impressive group, led by strong women, well organised, with support they have built 26 houses and have become a strong influence in the community. I remember visiting them in the community in 2006 and being impressed by their bold spirit. I have since learned that they have become influential on the local political level. In fact officials were outbidding each other at the last elections to secure their votes. Political corruption of course is endemic!

If you would like to know more about this tradition - I have discovered a very informative short film called saving the Devadasi by American Campaigner Julia Cumes: http://zmultimedia.com/episodes.html?video=0003&TYPE=

Fr Tim Byron is on his Post Tertianship in India. To visit his blog see: http://sjsa.wordpress.com/