Although this story - about prostitution running in families within an Indian community - is older than we would normally post on WVoN, the topic was so important that we have decided to publish anyway.
The community in question is Rajasthan’s Nat, a nomadic tribe found in the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states in India, according to Wikipaedia.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, the Nat community is patriarchal and male dominated. The women are divided into two groups - those who are prostitutes and those who aren't - from an early age. Despite their earning power, the sex workers are shunned by both society and their own families.
The sex workers are not allowed to attend important rituals or marry within the community. Conversely, the married women are expected to be chaste. They are expected to wear veils and maintain their distance from elders. Pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs are condemned in the Nat society.
Clients pay highly for a virgin and the high price that they can attract with clients encourages families to sell their daughters soon after attaining puberty.
Read the full story on Legal Drift.
Thanks to Asiya Islam for this story.
