While female foeticide due to preference for boys is an issue that is plaguing India, there is a community in Madhya Pradesh that actually celebrates the birth of a girl child, albeit for not so positive reason.
Members of Banchhada community, who operate family-based prostitution for livelihood, consider the birth of a girl auspicious as it means another breadwinner for the family.
For the community, which is mainly settled in Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch districts of Madhya Pradesh, prostitution is a way of life, passed down generations and young girls are groomed to become prostitutes as male members mostly live off their earnings.
"This belt- Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch- although notorious for opium cultivation, is also known for Banchhada community, in which prostitution has been given a societal approval," Akash Chouhan, coordinator of Nai Abha Samajik Chetna Samiti, an NGO that works for the uplift of this community, told PTI.
"As the members of the community are dependent on the women of the family for livelihood, they always celebrate the birth of a girl child with pomp, unlike others. For earning their bread, the male members allow their women to indulge in prostitution, although it is illegal in the eyes of law," he added.
Citing a census report, Chouhan said, "The total population of Banchhada community, which is spread over 75 villages in the three districts, is about 23,000, of which at least 65 per cent are women."
Lawyer Amit Sharma, who is also an RTI activist, said, "This is a serious issue as the rise in the number of women in the community is mainly because they purchase girls from different parts of the state."
"All the steps that police take on the issue prove insufficient as in order to end these evils from the community, there is a need for awareness," Neemuch District Superintendent of Police (SP), T K Vidyarthi, said,
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