The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Devadasis' tale of exploitation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Devadasis' tale of exploitation

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Given away by parents in marriage to deities, Devadasis narrate tales of abandonment and exploitation.

"I was given away by my father when I was five years old. I was married to the local deity and then `used by the village elders'. I have two girl children but no one to support me," Durgamma from Malkapur taluk in Raichur district said.

Now, along with Shankaramma, Yellamma, Mariamma and others, Durgamma is demanding that society pay up for the centuries of abuse heaped on this class of women.

On Tuesday, women from across the State gathered here as part of the Karnataka State Devadasi Women's Vimochana Sangha to remind the Government of its long-pending promises.

In a memorandum submitted to Women and Child Welfare Minister H.K. Kumaraswamy, the Devadasis asked the Government to give them a monthly pension of Rs. 750.

"After we have children, we are abandoned. With no skills to support us, we have to eke out a living by doing work for little money. This is why we want the Government to support us," Baby Bheemamma from Jamkhandi taluk said.

The memorandum asked the Government to provide Devadasis with houses, Antyodaya ration cards and two acres of land for farming so they could lead an independent life.

The Government must conduct a survey to assess the number of Devadasis in the State, it said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy has reportedly promised them that their demands would be addressed in the budget.

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