In Southern India the practise of dedicating girls to the Hindu goddess Yellamma as Devadasis, meaning ‘female servants of god’, is over ten centuries old.  Young girls were initiated in a ceremonial marriage to the deity and led a life of temple service, enjoying a high social status.  As the power of Hindu kings and then feudal lords grew they became the patrons of Devadasis, supporting them financially and offering them gifts in return for their sexual service.  In recent years the system has been criticized for forcing young girls into a life of prostitution and associations have been made with commercial sexual exploitation as many Devadasis can be found in city brothels.

Forbidden to marry but not to take lovers, today many Devadasis will have a partner from a higher caste who will support them financially.  Otherwise they rely on either sex work or manual labour for their income.  The main reasons for dedication in modern times are pragmatic and have an economic basis rather than religious one.  For instance, if a family has no sons, rather than marrying off their daughters (who would have to go and live with their husband’s family), a daughter could be kept at home by making her a Devadasi, thus becoming the ‘son’ of the family.  The system gives support to women to be independent from men and can be seen as a stand against marriage.  Other reasons for dedication are: family tradition or superstition; a skin disease is seen as a sign of neglecting Yellamma and a child may be offered to appease her; similarly, a childless couple might vow to dedicate their first female child

The 1982 ‘Devadasi prohibition of dedication act’ in Karnataka, outlawed the practise of dedicating girls, even when consensual.  However, government rehabilitation initiatives have been controversial and insubstantial.  Financial rewards were offered to men to marry Devadasis, with the inevitable abuse ensuing; retraining programmes – usually in badly paid cottage industries or as domestic help – have been unsuccessful, not providing a strong enough incentive for Devadasis to leave sex work; NGO raids at dedications, aimed at ‘rescuing’ young girls have merely resulted in the practise becoming more secretive.

All photographs were taken in Sangli and Miraj in August 2007 with the help and support of SANGRAM ‘Sampada Gramin Mahila Sanstha’ an organisation dedicated to fighting HIV through the mobilisation and collectivisation of women in prostitution and VAMP (Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad), its result, a collective of empowered women in prostitution, asserting their rights to healthcare and freedom from stigma and sharing information about HIV prevention through peer education.
www.sangram.com