Poor young boys in India dance in drag at weddings, become victims of sexual exploitation

[mota bhai 2,675]

The Tragic Exploitation of India's Launda Dancers

Abuse is the fate of many of the young boys forced by poverty to perform as launda dancers.

By Ahmed Wakas Khan

March 06, 2014

They are a feature of traditional ceremonies in the feudal heartlands of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar: young boys who dress as women and dance at weddings and other auspicious occasions. These young male performers, known as launda dancers, are vulnerable to organized patterns of exploitation that include prostitution, violence, sexual assault and sexually transmitted infections.

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Young boys, mostly from poorer backgrounds ... migrate to UP and Bihar during the spring and winter wedding seasons and are contracted by wedding orchestras to work for several months at a time. Financial and sexual exploitation by the hiring wedding bands has become synonymous with the tradition of launda dancing, with many of the boys forced into prostitution.

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During the wedding ceremony launda dancers are a focal point, leading the groom’s entourage to the bride’s home. The boys are exposed to the decadence of a largely male audience, often forced to perform late into the night as the singing and dancing of the occasion become more suggestive.

A range of physical and sexual abuse towards launda dancers has been documented during wedding processions. These include: being bitten, burned with cigarettes, assaulted and gang raped at knifepoint, with even reports of deaths for protesting against such abuses. In an example of the extreme violence launda dancers are susceptible to, boys have described being mutilated with blades before being raped.

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The sexual and gender identity of the “effeminate” launda dancer contrasts with that of the “organic” social male, resulting in the occluded, but culturally condoned, sexual regulation of “other” men by “real” men.

The limited social role for launda dancers also carries a significant health burden. Whilst some choose to return home following the wedding seasons, others remain mired in a world of sexual subservience and bonded labour. Physical mobility, multiple partners and unsafe sexual practices significantly increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

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With much recent attention in India understandably focusing on sexual abuse towards women, the forced prostitution and exploitation of young boys receives little attention.

Edited March 7, 2014 by mota bhai

[Darnell 8,478]

culturally condoned sexual regulation.

Now that's a spot waiting for the M-40, you betcha.

Still, have been strides in other areas with the womens these last 2 years in India, so I feel that the support organizations that 'fixed' the problems with the womens can migrate a bit and fix these problems with the launda dancers this year.

Choots and Lunds Forever !

[Thanks for posting this, O AraJit]

[mota bhai 2,675]

Choots and Lunds Forever !

You are fortunate there are no mods on VJ who who Hindi