Children Empowerment of the Devadasi System
Transforming Lives: Education and Livelihood for Devadasi Girls
In socio-economically disadvantaged Devadasi communities from North Karnataka, harmful norms force adolescent girls into sexual exploitation. We fight for the rights of these girls and enrol them in schools. We provide them opportunities for alternative means of livelihood and teach them to speak up against injustice.
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Thangam Ponpandi
Country Manager IndiaDonate now
Background
Historically, the Devadasi practice involved young girls being consecrated as performing artists in temples. However, exploitation now forces them into sex work in some vulnerable communities. Secret dedication ceremonies perpetuate this abuse, and all children in these communities face violence, stigma, and hardship.
It is estimated that there are about 80,000 Devadasi women in North Karnataka, twenty percent of whom are under the age of 18. In many cases, the girls are even younger than 14 years old when they enter the system. Dedication means dropping out of school and becoming isolated. The girls are mistreated by the men who exploit them. They run all kinds of risks, for example contracting STDs such as HIV, or ending up with an unwanted pregnancy, leading to health complications.
Sexual and gender-based violence
The Devadasi System in disadvantaged communities exploits young girls and women in the name of harmful tradition. After a ceremony, they are forced into a life of sex work. The children and young girls from the community are isolated, face stigma, and drop out of school. Generations of women in the same family undergo these challenges: the daughter of a mother in the Devadasi system often faces the same fate. Due to a lack of vocational skills, education, and alternative livelihood opportunities, they are highly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. Hence, they remain socio-economically oppressed.
Approach
With the GOOD project, Terre des Hommes Netherlands works in five districts in 163 villages in North Karnataka to protect children against sexual exploitation. What we do:
- We host girls and boys from the Devadasi communities in children’s clubs, where we educate them about their rights and support them to fight for change.
- We make sure they can go back to school.
- We train them in job-oriented vocational skills so that they can develop alternative livelihoods.
- Within the community, we create awareness about the harmful effects of the Devadasi system.
- We advocate for changes at the policy level.
- We set up child protection committees in the communities.
Results
The results we achieved in 2023 include the following:
- 3,105 girls were taken care of in our children’s clubs
- 517 girls were supported with school fees, materials and uniforms; 28 girls were re-enrolled in school; 2554 children accessed digital learning, 586 girls wrote their secondary school exams.
- 127 girls followed vocational training
- The project’s advocacy contributed to the State Government of Karnataka issuing an order to make the father’s name optional in all registration forms, a significant advocacy milestone.
- Girls from 198 children’s clubs actively advocate for better facilities in their respective villages.
Partners
Children of India Foundation (CIF)
Children of India Foundation (CIF) is a registered Non-Profit Organization based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It was founded in the year 2002 by a group of socially committed individuals. CIF is presently engaged in activities related to child protection, health, livelihoods and education.CIF works towards empowering the most marginal sections of society and building their capabilities so that communities can drive their own development. In 2019, CIF collaborated with Terre des Hommes Netherlands, the international child protection organisation, to carry out its work.
SNEHA
SNEHA is working with Devadasi and dalith families to increase their family income and thus to improve their quality of life. This is to prevent the children from these families entering exploitative situation through child labour, child marriage and dedication as Devadasi.
TdH-NL Revolving Fund supported by Terre des Hommes-Netherlands is the very important source for the socio-economic development of Devadasi and dalith families. Self-help groups are necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence for the economic self-reliance of Devadasi/dalith women who are mostly invisible in the social structure. SNEHA has supported 1,958 beneficiaries for economic development activities.
AMMA Foundation
Amma foundation has been working towards restoring basic rights of survival to children at the budding stage to give them a better future.
SEVAK
SEVAK aims to empower the socially and economically weaker sections of the society, especially women, children, aged and disabled, through providing advice, information, services and by participating with the intermediary organisations in extending cooperation and facilitation and initiate necessary support for their self-reliance.
Chaitanya Mahila Sangha
Chaitanya is one of the pioneers of community based micro-finance institutions in Maharashtra. It facilitated the formation of the first SHG federation in Maharashtra- ‘Grameen Mahila Swayamsiddha Sangha’ with the objectives of creating a habit of savings and credit among group members, generate external resources and provide a forum for exchange of information and experience to large groups of women.
At present 40 federations promoted by Chaitanya are owned and governed by women members of 8500 plus self-help groups and work as strong sustainable institutions that perform financial and other social/developmental activities.
Muktha Network
Muktha Network is the network of Devadasi women initiated by SNEHA during 2005.
SNEHA is working with Devadasi and dalith families to increase their family income and thus to improve their quality of life. This is to prevent the children from these families entering exploitative situation through child labour, child marriage and dedication as Devadasi.
TdH-NL Revolving Fund supported by Terre des Hommes-Netherlands is the very important source for the socio-economic development of Devadasi and dalith families. Self-help groups are necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence for the economic self-reliance of Devadasi/dalith women who are mostly invisible in the social structure. SNEHA has supported 1,958 beneficiaries for economic development activities.