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Female temple dancers lament their plight in Orissa
Bhubaneshwar:
Ahead of International women's day, female temple
dancers in Orissa, who are often referred to as Devadasis
(servants of God), lament their plight. The Devadasis
once enjoyed the divine rights of being the better
half of Lord Jagannath (Hindu God), but now the apathy
of society and government speaks volumes for the pitiable
life of a Devadasi. Today, these women allege that
despite devoting their entire life to 'God', they
are facing severe hardships. "We were around fifty
Devadasis here. We used to face a lot of problems,
both physically and financially. Gradually our role
in the rituals of the temple has been minimized,"
said Sashimani Devadasi. "There is nobody to look
after us. Even the government is not helping us much,
we do not get our pensions on time, and whatever little
we get, is not enough," said Parasmani Devadasi, The
practice of dedicating young girls to the service
of a deity began in ancient India, but over time the
custom degenerated into an excuse for their sexual
exploitation bymen. Temple caretakers say that the
tradition is slowly dying and they fear that the tradition
would come to an end soon. "The age -old tradition
of Devadasis is gradually dying. There is no one to
help them out. They face severe financial problems,"
said Debadutta Samant, a scholar..
-
Mar 4, 2008
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