Fact Sheet – India
Summary
India is a fast-growing, prosperous and immensely diverse country. Many traditional and religious beliefs shape everyday life and
family and cultural values are of extreme importance. Despite the caste system having been widely challenged and discrimination
against lower castes being illegal according to the constitution, this highly hierarchical and social stratification remains entrenched
within society. The institution of the so-called Devadasi system originally meant dedicating female children to serve in temples as
servant of goddess Yellamma. However, over time it has turned into a system of religiously sanctioned prostitution forced on an
estimated 5000- 10,000 girls from lower castes every year. Being a Devadasi not only means physical exploitation, but often results
in psychological problems, health issues and social, economic and political stigmatisation, which reinforces their initial
powerlessness as a member of a low caste. Furthermore, as they become ‘too old’ or ‘undesirable’ to work in the temples, they are
left in an untenable situation of poverty, without access to education and seen as ‘damaged goods’ by society.
HART’s partner is Operation Mercy India.
History
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India is the 7th largest and 2nd most populous country in the
world. Following economic reforms in the 1990s it became
one of the fastest-growing major economies. However, it
continues to face serious challenges such as poverty,
malnutrition and corruption, alongside major internal regional 
and social inequalities.
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Traditions have played an important role throughout the long
history of India, whose society is defined by social hierarchy,
stratification and related restrictions. The least prestigious
group of the hierarchy, the Dalits (‘untouchables’), exists
outside the Indian caste system and constitutes 16% of
population. They are vulnerable to numerous human rights 
abuses due to their low social status. India declared
‘untouchability’ to be illegal in 1948 and has since enacted
other anti-discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives,
but the system still holds sway in much of India.
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Family values are important in the Indian tradition, and multigenerational patriarchal joint families have been the norm in
India. The difference in the value of a male and a female child
and the consequential female infanticide in India have caused
a discrepancy in the sex ratio as well as a permanent
difference in prospects and opportunities for members of the 
two genders, although some improvements have been made
in recent years.
Devadasi System
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The Devadasi system is a now illegal system of religiously
sanctioned prostitution, whereby young girls are dedicated to
goddess Yellamma in ritual ceremonies. Girls have little idea of
the significance of such rituals, they are made maidservants of
the deity out of material necessity or religious fatalism, in
hopes for some kind of benefit from the goddess in return.
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The factors that lead to a girl being dedicated include:
poverty, religious beliefs and the traditional view of family and
being female in a society that only values males – are deeply
rooted. They both compound existing disadvantages of female
powerlessness and poverty and add severely to them.
Now the ceremonies are often conducted secretly as the
Devadasi Prohibition Act has outlawed the practice. The
system is, however, still practiced openly, as enforcing the
1982 law has been problematic. Up until 2009, out of 45
cases registered, conviction happened only in 1 case.
As well as sexual abuse, Devadasi experience physical,
emotional and spiritual abuse. Their situation is made
worse by stigmatisation and health issues. It is especially
difficult for ageing Devadasi to find a way to sustain
themselves, many being without education and so
condemned to a life of poverty, unmarried, which is a
great disadvantage in traditional India.
Dedicated girls are from the lowest classes, with the
majority being Dalits, and so are further degraded by
stigmatisation. It is extremely hard for them to voice their
rights, although most are not aware that they have any.
Numerous organisations have been conducting initiatives
to dismantle the system and support these women. These
programmes include HIV/AIDS screening, counselling and
health-related education, income generating training
programmes, self-help groups and empowerment
workshops.
A recent in-depth study on sex workers aged above 40 in
the Bijapur, Bagalkot and Belgaum districts revealed the
terrible conditions these women live in. Conducted by
Gangadhar Sonar, an academic of Rani Chennamma
University, the study analysed hundreds of sex workers
finding that 43% of 40+ aged sex workers were part of the
Devadasi system, 20% were widows and 15% were women
who had committed adultery and had been rejected by
their families. Most women were reported to offer their
services for as little as Rs. 10 (about £0.10).
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To learn more, visit:
http://www.houseofrefugeindia.org/sleeping_goddess.html
http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_do
cs/2009/w/women_in_ritual_slavery2007.pdf
http://www.hart-uk.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/07/A-Light-in-the-Darkness.pdf
For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.hart-uk.org/locations/india.
To enter the competition, please visit www.hart-uk.org/about-you/humanrightsprize.