Devadasis demand Government help

Gulbarga, Feb 13 (UNI) Hundreds of Devadasis, innocent women pushed into home based sex trade in the name of religion, have urged the Government to extend help to them and their families to enable them lead a normal life.

Though the Devadasi system was banned by Karnataka in 1982, it still prevailed in more than ten districts in Northern Karnataka.

The first State-level Devadasis' convention, organised by the CPI(M) here yesterday, attracted over a thousand Devadasis in the 19-55 age group. Many women's organisations, social workers and NGOs took part in the convention, highlighting the evils of the system, ways and means to eradicate it and provide a better social status to these women.

Inaugurating the convention, All India Kisan Sabha General Secretary and CPI(M) Politburo member K Varadarajan emphasised the need for Devadasis to be united and launch a movement to negate the evil custom. The party would resort to agitations until the practice was eradicated in the State.

He regretted that successive Governments had failed to uplift the status of Devadasis and eradicate the evil custom from the society.

CPI(M) leader Maruthi Manpade said there were more than nine lakh Devadasi women in the State, many of whom were forced to lead a life of destitution.

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