Generations of women are forced into prostitution by their male relatives in the name of tradition in rural Uttar Pradesh, India


Gunjan, our correspondent from Uttar Pradesh brings us this shocking
video about Natpura, a village near state capital Lucknow, where for
generations, men have been forcing their daughters and sisters into
flesh trade.


The girls here are made to start serving clients when they are
barely 11 or 12. Since they start working at such an early age, none are given the chance to attend school. In addition, they never get married since there is such a negative stigma surrounding the women from this village.


The most shocking fact is that almost every woman here believes
that she is simply carrying on a ‘village tradition’. This belief,
instilled in them by their family members and other male relatives throughout their childhood, sadly becomes the norm. Few girls protest or even realize that they are being
exploited or having their rights violated.


Natpura, which comes under Hardoi district, has about 50
families. In every family, all the young women work as prostitutes and
are the main bread earners. When they are old however, and have retired from
the profession, they live in extreme poverty, abandoned by their
relatives.


The men of the village on the other hand, live quite freely. They
marry and bring home their brides, whom they protect, while keeping them
away from prostitution. When the same couples have daughters however,
they are often forced into prostitution. 


Gunjan who first visited this village 4 years ago, says that
things have changed a lot since her last visit, but only for the worse. Young girls
are now trafficked to work abroad in brothels in places such as Mumbai and Dubai- this being the main reason as to why Gunjan couldn’t find girls her age to speak
with.


Those who are still based in the village have a clientele that
includes several politically and economically powerful people. Since
they pay well for the women’s services, men in the village are not
willing to take the women out of the profession. The village has no
schools, no electricity and no panchayat (village council) of its own –
facts that make the village the perfect breeding ground for social
crime.


Gunjan says that when she visited Natpura, it felt as though the
village was disconnected from the country she lived in. Discussions involving the empowerment of women and ensuring their rights seemed to be
alien concepts as women here had just one reality: Selling their bodies. Gunjan felt compelled to share this story with
the world, in an effort to draw attention to and help stop this utter
injustice that has gone on for far too long.