JOURNEY OF A DEVADASIFrom Oppression to Opportunity

An ancient practice in India, the Devadasi (meaning: ‘servant of God’) system involved dedicating a girl, as young as 5-6 years of age, to the temple Goddess. This meant that she would spend her entire life serving the temple and was not allowed to marry anyone else. The system was abused by the rich and the powerful who began to force the young Devadasis to sleep with them.

Every day, about girls and

women in India enter prostitution.200

do so against their will.

For as little as the

borrower’s enterprise can undergo as

high as a increase in revenue.

$25060%

Devadasis are denied

employment due to social

stigma. It is a vicious

cycle where future

generations too are drawn into

this ruthless system.

of these single mothers are

now able to send their children to

school. This results in improved

child nutrition, health and

education.

of Devadasis

are illiterate. of

them are unmarried.

91%93%

With a small investment of $250, these

women engage in 32 types of

businesses, from professional

photography to repairing tractors and

other farm equipment.

80%

PERFORM

67% 10% 1%

of the world’s work.

EARN

of the world’s

income.

OWN

of the world’s

land.

COMPRISE

of the world’s poor.

70%

Greater provision of public

goods, such as water and

sanitation, which matter

more to women.

WOMEN

POWER IN HANDS OF WOMEN

The average Devadasi

empowered by the Hope

Project:

is 45 years old

has a family of 5, including

3 school-going children

rears cattle and livestock

saves about $30 a month

de·va·da·si|dāvə däsē|noun: devadasi; plural noun: devadasisa hereditary female dancer and courtesan in a Hindu temple.

#hopeproject

spearheaded by MILAAP.org is a

campaign to inspire urban masses

towards empowering ex-Devadasis

through small contributions called

microloans. The possibility of

self-reliance through

entrepreneurship is a ray of fierce

hope for them.

THE HOPE PROJECT

1. Varghese, J. (September 15, 2010). Devadasi’s: Young Indian Temple Prostitutes. Assist News Service. Retrieved from http://www.assistnews.net/ansarticle.asp?URL=Stories/2010/s10090083.html 2. Devadasi System: The Flesh Trade on the name of God, Exposed! Chakreview. Retrieved from: http://www.chakreview.com/social-issues/Devadasi-System-The-Flesh-Trade 3. Blachard JF, O'Neil J, Ramesh BM, Bhattacharjee P, Orchard T, Moses S. Understanding the social and cultural contexts of female sex workers in Karnataka, India: Implications for prevention of HIV infection. J Infect Dis 2005:191(Suppl-1):S139-46. Available from: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/425273?cookieSet=1. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1pCUYWW

SOURCES:

ENTERPRISES IMPROVED by MICROLOANS

4% Retail shops4% Grocery stores

6% Cloth businesses

66% Livestock rearing 20% Other

61%

When women have the same

amount of land as men, there

is over a .

increase in crop yields.10%