BACKGROUND
PROTECTION AGAINST ABUSE
Girls and women in India often live under difficult conditions and they are still exposed to strong discrimination and dangers. Sexual violence in India has made headlines worldwide and people are mobilizing more and more locally to protest violence against women. As a result, the sexual criminal law in India tightened up in 2013. But protection is still inadequate and sexual abuse remains a widespread problem. Women are often regarded as inferior and the dowry frequently makes them an unbearable financial burden for their families. Particularly within the family, women are often victims of violence, and out of shame and fear such assaults are not reported to the police. The only way to avoid violence and sexual abuse is to flee.
PROTECTION FROM TEMPLE SLAVERY
Despite the prohibition of temple slavery in India, countless girls and young women are still consecrated to a goddess in the temple, where they are from then on systematically exploited and abused as temple slaves, so-called joginis. It is estimated that there are around 40,000 joginis in Telangana alone, the state in which Usthi is carrying out the project against temple slavery. The joginis mostly come from poor families who give their girls to the temples out of naivety and desperation. The joginis are said to have sacred powers and many believe that they positively influence the fate and the economic situation of the family. The belief that sexual contact with a jogini can avert negative energies also prevails, and therefore joginis are often forced to have sexual contacts. They are also frequently forced into prostitution to make ends meet.
REINTEGRATION
BENEFICIARIES 2023: 105 GIRLS & WOMEN
Since 2012, Usthi has offered shelter and rehabilitation to 20 women who had to flee from their homes in a women’s shelter in Hyderabad. Here they live in a community, cope with everyday life and are cared for around the clock. In addition to medical examinations, the women can also take advantage of therapeutic support. In addition, together with a longstanding local partner, Usthi has set up a project to better protect girls and young women who have been victims of temple slavery. In cooperation with local self-help groups, the women are freed and brought to the jogini women’s house in Hyderabad. Since 2017, former joginis have found shelter there and can cope with their traumas through comprehensive care. The first experiences with the women’s shelter for joginis have been extremely positive and several former joginis have already taken the step into a new, independent life. This has encouraged us to further expand our range. In April 2018, Usthi was able to increase the number of places in the jogini women’s shelter from 10 to 20. For about a year Usthi provides the women with a new, safe home, from where they can make the transition to a regulated and independent everyday life. The residents of the women’s shelters have the opportunity to attend the professional skills training courses offered nearby and thus qualify for regular work. The training strengthens their self-confidence and is an important step on their way to a self-determined life. The women also live in the same place as the children of the Usthi children’s homes. This creates an exchange between the children and the women, which brings added value for both. For the women the encounter with these children is often very valuable, because they do not judge them and the interaction is without prejudice.
The project women’s shelters has been supported by the Migros Aid Fund.