“Renting cars and homes is a common practice, but the concept of renting a wife might be unheard of to you.” Surprisingly, in a particular location in India, it’s indeed possible to rent a wife for a month. Astonishing as it may sound, there exists a village in Madhya Pradesh, India, where this unique practice takes place.
Shivpuri is a district of Madhya Pradesh. A custom is prevalent in Shivpuri whose name is ‘Dhadicha’. In this practice that the wife is rented out here for one month to one year. In the context of this practice, a market is established here and the deal of women is decided in the same market only.
After the deal is finalized, a contract is made between the buying man and the woman. This contract is written on stamp paper ranging from 10 rupees to 100 rupees. The duration of the contract ends, and after that, the woman marries another man. The woman can also break the contract in the middle if she wishes. In that situation, the woman has to provide an affidavit on the stamp paper. After that, the predetermined amount has to be returned to the ex-husband. Sometimes, even if the woman receives more money from another man, she breaks the contract.
The price of this deal starts from 50 thousand and goes up to 4 lacks. This amount has to be paid by the male buyer to the family of the woman. If the former man wants to keep the woman, an additional substantial payment is required.
Apart from Shivpuri village, a case has also come to the fore from Gujarat. A man working as a farm laborer had given his wife on rent for a month to a landlord.
The practice has become a business in some areas of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In many cases, women are sold for as low as 500 rupees, which is an extremely heinous crime. There are two major reasons for this – skewed gender ratio and poverty. It is difficult for many men to find marriage partners in some regions due to a skewed gender ratio. On the other hand, some people also sell girls due to poverty. Girls from states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, etc., are also brought and traded for such reasons.
