Renting houses, cars is common practice around the world. Similarly, the practice of renting drivers and even clothes & jewelry is growing in India. But have you heard about renting out wives? Shocking, isn’t it? The system of renting out wives is known as “Dhadicha pratha” and is a common practice in the villages of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Let’s find out how it works. The Dhadicha pratha is a system for the rich men of the village who fail to find a bride. Every year, a market is set up where the fathers & husbands present their daughters and wives, even those who have children to the rich men. Once the rich man selects a woman, the woman’s father/husband/guardian discusses the woman’s rental tenure, security deposit amount, monthly rent amount and other terms & conditions. The rent period can be one month to one year. After the details are finalized, an agreement is drawn & signed on the stamp paper of ₹10, ₹50, or ₹100. At the end of the contract period, the contract can either be renewed for an additional amount or the woman's ownership can be transferred for a higher amount to someone else.
The woman can withdraw from the contract at any time she wants by signing an affidavit but she & her family will have to return the security deposit to the rich man. However, if the woman or her family are withdrawing from the contract to accept more money from another man, it is considered a breach. In the Dhadicha Pratha, virgin girls aged 8 to 15 are preferred over married women. The rent of the woman can range from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 but the price can escalate up to ₹200,000 for younger, more attractive, and virgin girls. Non-virgin girls are priced based on age, skin color, and previous sexual history.
Thousands of such deals are finalized every year. Sometimes, middlemen or brokers are involved who facilitate and negotiate the deal from both ends and retain a major portion of the “rent” for themselves. Even though the police are aware of this practice, no legal action has been taken because no one files any complaint. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, stories of Dhadicha Pratha from Gujarat, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal have also come to light. One of the reason is the still escalating female infanticide. Female infanticide has drastically disturbed India's sex ratio, especially Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Men in these regions are facing difficulties in finding brides because of which they indulge in Dhadicha Pratha and purchase or rent women from the economically disadvantaged regions of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar. The poor families of the women indulge in Dhadicha Pratha to continue their family lineage, avoid hefty dowries, and for a stable financial income.
The most horrific aspect of Dhadicha Pratha is the exploitation of young girls, some as young as six. Families of young girls give their daughters drugs to enhance their physical appearance to fetch higher prices. After being rented they endure daily sexual abuse, not only from their husbands but other men of the household too. This repeated exploitation causes severe physical and mental abuse. Many women contract deadly diseases like HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis B and go through lifelong emotional distress. Despite its long existence, Dhadicha Pratha has only recently gained attention after a few victims came forward to file complaints. The oldest complaint of the incident so far is from 2006. Various Non-governmental organizations are working hard to raise awareness and fight it but the villagers are defending it as a cultural custom and a vital income source.
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