For sale: 13-year-old virgin? why haven't we put a stop to this by now?

Question

A news story from the city of Jaipur just Thirty miles west of the Taj Mahal reads..

" Tonight, one girl in particular is attracting attention as she sits on a stool by a fire so that she can be seen by passing vehicles. Her heavily made-up, striking face and beautiful pink sari make her look as if she were on her way to a party. But the truth is different. Suli, 14, is a virgin and a bidding war is being held for the right to be the first to sleep with her.

The collection of shelters where she lives houses 59 families, all members of the Bedia tribe, which has a long tradition of caste-based prostitution. Girls born here become prostitutes in a rite of passage into "adulthood" as routine as marriage is to the rest of Indian society.

The "first time"is a valued commodity for which the middle-class businessmen who pass this way are prepared to pay a premium. " her little sis is 13

see full story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/13/wvirgin113.xml

Answer 1

This is a cultural/Hindu tradition. Who are "we" to stop it? I am an American. If this were an American 13 year old, I'm sure this would have been stopped by now. As it is, this is a Hindu system that's been in place for a long time and it would require a huge cultural upheaval to achieve the sort of moral policing this would require--if it were possible to achieve in the first place. How about that war on drugs? Same dilemma, different name.

Interestingly enough, it brought to mind the geisha tradition.  

Besides, don't you think we should stop trying to police the world and take care of the issues here at home?

Answer 2

Why have you posted the link and then typed practically all of it out anyway?  It's no big deal, it what happens over there, the girls don't seem too bothered.

Answer 3

Its not our culture so who are we to judge anyway

*EDIT* i am not saying its right but its up to India to put a stop to it. These people are just trying to survive

Answer 4

the thing isn't about protecting our children, it's about culture. To us prostitution is a very delicate subject, we see it as a bad thing, but for many other cultures s*x is just s*x... and although I agree with you ( I don't aprove that kind of "sale" I find it denigrating to women), but the thing is in other cultures people see it as a way to get money, and even their parents and relatives suport it. We should understand that those thoughts have been in their culture for a long long time, the only way is showing them to value women more as well as human life.

Answer 5

As long as men are in control of the world,  children will never be safe.

Answer 6

The man made laws have not said the men should cast their eyes away from the young I will pray that a great wind from God bring a cloud to cover the children and keep them safe from the eyes of the devouring beast within mans loin.

Answer 7

In most third world countries where food is scarce and there are a large number of children to feed, having a 13 yr old girl as a prostitute is normal.

Dont forget this has only been phased out in Europe relatively recently and even now 13 year olds have a separate category in terms of sexual relations to those below that age.

Don't forget it is easy to be moralistic when full of cheap food from Tesco. This to them is all about survival. In any case some good usually comes out of this where the man decides to take her in and she then sends money back home to her parents every month and stuff like that. Its dog eat dog out there.

Answer 8

This article should make you wonder why more than half a trillion dollars (1 trillion = $1,000,000,000,000) have been spent on killing over a million Iraqis and 4000 Americans when only a fraction of it would have eradicated a huge amount of poverty including resorting to such means to survive...

Answer 9

and in this country 13 year olds give it away