MUMBAI (AFP) - A shortage of eligible single women has prompted some poverty-stricken husbands in western India to rent out their wives to other men on a monthly rate, according to a news report Monday.
One man allowed his farm labourer wife, and mother of two, to stay with her boss for 8,000 rupees (175 dollars) a month, said the Times of India citing police officials.
Poor families and middlemen have also cashed in on the shortage of women by selling off their daughters to men in Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest states.
Brokers can make up to 200,000 rupees a month from finding and selling wives to single men in the state of some 50 million people, according to the newspaper.
“We cannot take action against this activity as no one comes forward to lodge a complaint,” deputy superintendent of police, Naresh Muniya, at Ankleshwar in southern Gujarat, told the newspaper.
“We do not rule out the possibility of minors being married off to the rich,” he said.
India’s 2001 census showed there were 921 women to every 1,000 men in Gujarat. India has a widespread problem of female foeticide because of fears of the high dowry costs linked to having girls.
The practice of giving dowries, while banned in the 1980s, remains common in India’s male-dominated society with families impoverished by the giving of cash and goods to the groom on marriage.
There’s something deep down which is wrong in India, if this thing is becoming more and more rampant. Obviously this has a lot to do with poverty, but this probably has cultural origins as well, especially with so many girls being murdered in India through foeticide and infanticide.
The thing that is "deep down wrong" with India isnt something new. Its wrong with almost all countries in the reigon. Its poverty. Im sure ethics are the last thing on the mind of the farmer whos family is starved to the bone.
I dont see how anyone on this forum has a right to call them names. No one likes to see their children starve.
Its amazing women always have to pay the price for everything in this twisted world. After reading the thread i felt totally sick, what right a husband has over his wife to make her do such things...i know you all are saying its the poverty that resort a man to do such things, but i just hope its consented by the wife as well and not being forced upon her.
Rent-a-wife is actually not a bad idea for today's society. Think about it, so many marriages are ending in divorce. But just look at the costs of divorce, especially for the husbands. Rich husbands can loose half of their net worth in a divorce! Now that's crazy. Of course, if we were able to "rent" a wife then the whole divorce-settlement issue would not be a problem. So yeah if you are looking at it financially renting is a lot cheaper. Also, you can determine the rental period and all the other things can be worked out quite easily, as opposed to lengthy divorce procedujes. You get to try out different types of models as well.
Its quite sad to read this, but has this been reported by some international newspaper as well. How reliable is the news coming out of Pakistani newspaper. Could be a case of namak mirchi laga kar khaber di ho. who knows maybe it was just some isolated case (I hope so for the sake of women involved).
