A human rights group held a mass wedding ceremony in a village in western India where all the women are sex workers in a ploy to rescue the young brides from the skin trade, according to reports.
The event was held Sunday in the village of Vadia, known locally as "the village of prostitutes," in the western state of Gujarat, Agence France-Presse reported.
In all, eight brides, all either 18 or older, were hitched to young men from local communities, while another 12 girls who are under 18 were engaged at the event.
Mittal Patel, of the Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch, the non-profit group that organized the weddings, told AFP that nearly 3,000 people turned out to the event to watch the women attempt to snap the generations-old cycle of sexual profiteering in the village.
"Marriage means that the young girls will be saved from the traditional profession of prostitution," Patel said.
"Once the girl gets married or engaged, she cannot be forced into the flesh trade."
The group spent five years gaining the trust of the young grooms, who previously would have viewed any girl from the "village of prostitutes" as damaged goods.
Vadia was known as a hub for the sex trade since before India gained independence from Britain in 1947 and most of the men work as pimps, the Times of India reported.
In one case, a former client lent a hand in organizing the festivities, which included a massive feast for all the guests.
"I got a call recently and the caller turned out to be a customer," Patel told The Times.
"He said he has a daughter with a prostitute of Vadia, and offered to make a hefty donation."
J.B. Vora, a local official who presided over the weddings, told AFP, “This is a historic event which is going to bring in a big social change in the lives of the women of Vadia village.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/indian-mothers-hold-mass-wedding-village-sex-workers-save-daughters-prostitution-article-1.1037143#ixzz1pAIUU42S
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