Although India has enacted laws to combat bride trafficking, such as the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, enforcement remains a significant challenge. According to Legal Services India, “research has demonstrated that there are many gaps in the law’s treatment of human trafficking and slavery.” The report further underscores the lack of media attention and police inaction, stating, “The police are also uninterested in looking into such problems.”
One shocking example of such exploitation is the practice of wife rental, which has persisted for decades in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, under the Dadhicha custom. Each year, a market is established where families traditionally offer their daughters or wives for rent. Men participate in this market, selecting women to serve as companions.
Alarmingly, parents and guardians in economically vulnerable regions willingly lease their daughters, and in some cases, even married men rent out their wives to other individuals. This distressing reality often involves the women being handed over to wealthy businessmen who lack spouses or partners. These transactions are formalised using stamped papers, often for paltry sums ranging from ten to a hundred rupees. Such practices not only perpetuate systemic exploitation and dehumanisation but also facilitate thousands of such agreements every year, trapping generations in cycles of despair.
The roots of this issue are deeply intertwined with the alarming prevalence of female infanticide, which has drastically skewed the sex ratio in regions like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The imbalance leaves men in these areas struggling to find brides, compelling them to purchase or rent women from economically disadvantaged states such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar. This practice is often justified as a means to secure family lineage, driven by financial constraints and the desire to avoid exorbitant dowries.
These transactions are typically orchestrated by brokers who exploit the situation for their gain. Acting as intermediaries, they retain a significant portion of the money, leaving only a fraction for the family of the leased woman. This predatory system thrives on poverty and patriarchal norms, further entrenching the commodification of women.
Within the Dhadicha custom, a particularly appalling aspect comes to light: the exploitation of virgin girls, usually between the ages of 8 and 15, who are preferred over married women. The valuation of these girls is determined by the duration for which the man intends to “rent” her as a wife—be it by the hour, day, week, month, or year. Once the agreed period ends, the arrangement can either be renewed or terminated. In many cases, the girl is then subjected to a new contract, rented out to another man, perpetuating her exploitation and reinforcing the commodified view of women as mere assets to be traded.
This abhorrent system thrives on systemic failures, economic desperation, and deeply entrenched gender inequalities, painting a grim picture of the urgent need for both legal and societal interventions.Usually, the financial arrangement is set at around Rs. 15,000 to 25,000 per bride. The age of the bride significantly influences the pricing, with younger brides commanding higher amounts proposed by their families. At times, the price can surge substantially, even reaching up to 2 lakhs if the bride is considered beautiful, physically appealing, and a virgin. Non-virgin girls are valued at Rs. 10,000 to 15,000, taking into account factors such as their age, skin tone, and the number of prior contractual marriages they have been involved in.
The deeply distressing aspect of the Dadicha situation is that girls being offered for rent are as young as 6 years old, with no maximum age limit. Even before reaching puberty, these underage girls face sexual exploitation. It is truly disturbing to learn that parents frequently administer a particular drug to these girls, aimed at enhancing their breast and muscle development. This is done to make them appear aesthetically appealing and mature like women, in order to command a higher price.
Every day, these young girls are raped not only by their husbands, but also by other males in the household. To satisfy their sexual desires, they can sleep with any guy in the household. In certain families, even the father-in-law is permitted to have sexual relations with the girl. The rationale for this is that they paid the same price for the girl. The girl’s standing is lowered to that of a sex toy utilized for enjoyment by males and as an income-generating machine for the parents. As a result, the parents in this community prefer producing more girls, which equals more money for the family.
When her contract expires, she is either renewed by the same guy or returned to her family, where she is priced again and hired to new clients. The cycle goes on. These girls are subjected to a great deal of maltreatment, both physical and emotional, and there is no one with whom they can express their anguish. Many people come into touch with lethal infections such as HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis B. There is a long list of women who have been subjected to this type of torture. Many people remain silent.
When a bride’s contract expires, she is either retained by the same man under a renewed agreement or sent back to her family, where she is once again priced and offered to new clients. This harrowing cycle continues unabated, subjecting these girls to relentless physical and emotional abuse with no avenues to express their pain or seek help. Many fall victim to severe health issues, contracting life-threatening diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis B due to their exploitation.
The list of women who endure such torment is tragically long, yet the silence surrounding their suffering is deafening. Fear, stigma, and systemic neglect compel many to endure in silence, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
The continued existence of practices like the Dadhicha Pratha in 21st-century India stands as a glaring indictment of societal and systemic failure to protect vulnerable populations and achieve gender equality. As the Legal Services India report aptly states, “It is past time for the state to take notice of this and enact stronger legislation, as well as make people aware of how illegal it is in nature.” Ending this cycle of exploitation demands immediate and decisive action—both through legal reform and widespread societal change—to ensure dignity, safety, and justice for all.
In a shocking revelation that lays bare the grim realities of gender exploitation in modern India, a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district has drawn widespread attention for perpetuating a horrifying custom known as Dadhicha Pratha. This practice, which involves renting women and young girls as wives, exposes the deeply entrenched gender inequalities that continue to thrive despite significant strides in women’s rights.
As reported by Legal Services India, the Dadhicha Pratha unfolds annually in a makeshift market where families present their daughters or wives for rent. Men from the surrounding areas gather to participate, selecting women based on factors such as virginity, physical appearance, and age. This abhorrent tradition has reportedly persisted for decades, with thousands of such transactions finalized each year.
This practice not only commodifies women but also normalizes their exploitation, reducing them to objects of trade and servitude. Despite the constitutional and legal safeguards aimed at ensuring gender equality and protecting women, the continued existence of Dadhicha Pratha highlights glaring gaps in enforcement and awareness, calling for urgent intervention to dismantle this deeply oppressive system.
