Sex, Death And The Gods
I watched Beeban Kidron’s documentary film, Sex, Death and the Gods which was on BBC4 this week. It was about the devadasi tradition in modern India and was a real jolt.
This is not the first time I've watched a film about prostitution and sex traffic in India. I thought there was nothing new that could have got me shocked but the way religion is still used to coerce girls (often as young as thirteen) to enter the sex trade is something I had not encountered before.
India has a rich tradition of courtesans and concubines who often belonged to the elite sections of the society but over the years with colonial interjections these very women were reduced to a life of poverty. Orientalists like Max Mller and Charles Grant wrote at lengths about the abject position of Indian women in 19th century India but they never talked about the humiliating present that the women of the devadasi tradition faced under colonialism.
What the devadasi tradition did was offer these women (for whom sex work was a livelihood) a chance to be a part of the respected society even if it was under the guise of religion (devdasi literally means servant of the god). One of the fine points the films picks on is the voice of the Indian activist who talks about how the concept of choice is so grossly misunderstood by the west in context to South Asia. The West in their way of looking at India as a backward nation tend to look at sex work as a humiliating act to which these women are subjected.
However while it might be easy to make such gross misjudgements, it is also a moment of empowerment for those who decide to do it. In fact many of the testimonials prove that. The women talk at length about how they are free to live their own life and live it the way they want, without being a part of patriarchal dominance.
"If your world is going to be either sex work or devadasi sex work, then devadasi is a better place to be" - Kidron
This post is not about convincing you that the devadasi system was in any way good, it wasn’t and even today in several villages in Karnataka, girls who have just reached puberty are dedicated to the goddess Yelamma where they go through multiple forms of abuse and rape.
The devadasi system was outlawed years ago but even today it is very much prevalent, as Kidron’s film has shown us. I am not sure what thoughts I will take back with me after this film. A profound sense of shame/ guilt or maybe I will soon forget.
The fractured ideology we subscribe to can no longer hold us and neither can the West’s treatment of India. This might be the beginning of the new moment or it might just be another absurd hope.
The film is being repeated on BBC 4 this Thursday at 3:15am and is available any time on the iPlayer until Tuesday 1st March.
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