Dhadicha Pratha - Wife for Rent in Madhya Pradesh

While India is on its way towards the empowerment of women, we can still quote innumerable instances of how brutally women are treated in some parts of our nation even after years of achieving independence.

There are illogical practices followed in India which immediately signify, how women have been harassed sexually and reduced to mere inanimate objects of trade. One such disgusting ritual followed in one of the villages of India is the "Dhadicha Pratha."

Bride markets are very popular in countries like Bulgaria, Burma, Pakistan, and North Korea. 

The evil practice of renting wives has been in existence for decades in the Shivpuri village of Madhya Pradesh. This custom is known as Dadhicha.

Every year a market is set up in the village where it is customary for families to rent their daughters or wives. Men participate in the market and choose women for themselves.

It is surprising to know that parents/guardians voluntarily rent their girls to men. It is also the case where married husband rent their wives to other men. The wives of the husbands are given on lease to wealthy businessmen who do not have a wife or a partner. The deal is signed on a stamp paper of an amount as meagre as Rupees ten, fifty or hundred. Every year thousands of deals are finalized.

The rising issue of female infanticide has significantly led to a reduction in the female sex ratio in India. This has consequently affected the men specifically in regions of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh as they are unable to get brides for themselves. Thus, they resort to buying or renting women from different parts of the country, particularly from the impoverished regions of Madhya Pradesh. Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar to carry forward the lineage of their family. 

Due to poverty families are agreed to rent or sell their girls and to escape paying hefty dowries. The deals are usually carried through a broker who keeps the bigger share of the amount for himself and leaves the smaller ones for the family.

In Dhadicha usually the virgin girls from the age group of 8 to 15 years are preferred more over married women. The bride is priced as per the hour/day/week/month/year i.e. the period for which the man wants her to be his wife. Once the deal ends the contract is renewed by the same man or a new contract is made with another man and the bride is rented to a new person.

Generally, the deal is locked for Rs. 15.000/- to 25,000/- per bride. The younger the bride, the higher the price proposed by the family. Sometimes the price is so excessive that it goes up to 2 lakhs if the bride is beautiful, physically attractive, and a virgin. Non-Virgin girls are priced for rupees 10,000 to 15,000 based on their age, skin colour and the number of men they have slept with before as a part of their contractual marriages.

The most horrific part of Dadicha is that girls who are rented are as young as 6 years and there is no upper age limit. Minor girls are sexually exploited even before they hit puberty. It is disgusting to know that the parents often give these girls a specific drug to expand their breasts and body muscles to look aesthetically pleasing like a woman to convey a high price.

Once they are rented, they are married off for a specific period. These brides are often referred to as "Paro" or "Molki" which means the one who has a price. Every day these young girls are raped not just by their husbands but by multiple men in the family itself. Any male in the family can sleep with them to satisfy their sexual pleasures. In some households, even the father-in-law is allowed to have sexual intercourse with the girl. The justification for this is that they have bought the girl for the same. The status of the girl is reduced to nothing more than a sex toy used to have fun by men and as an income-generating machine for the parents. Hence, the parents in this village prefer having more daughters which means more and more money for the family

Once the contract is over it is either renewed by the same man or she is sent back to her family where she is priced again and rented to new customers. The cycle continues in her life. These girls are getting through a lot of exploitation physically, mentally and sexually as well. Many people come into touch with lethal infections such as HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis B etc.

The Indian constitution prohibits all forms of trafficking like begging, forced prostitution, organ trade, bonded labour etc. However, Dhadicha Pratha is worse than everything. Bride trafficking is openly happening in the country under the guise of mindless customs and rituals.

It is outrageous that parents themselves have no sense of sympathy or compassion towards their daughters. 

This practice is not limited to India but has been followed in Africa as well. In several parts of African countries, a practice is termed as Leblouh.

Therefore, stringent laws will be the best option.

This system witnesses how women are treated like sexual objects.

If we look at human history, the story of women is the story of injustice, inequality, violence and exploitation. Violence against women isn't cultural, it's criminal. 

Every cloud has a silver lining, 

It is high time to empower themselves and to fight for their freedom.

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