By Terry Vanderheyden
MEWAT, India, April 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A BBC report today describes the plight of an Indian woman, who was sold as a wife against her will to an older man. The trade in wives is rampant in the Northern region of Haryana, where sex-selective abortions have caused a lop-sided demographic of 10 men for every 8 women.
The BBC report describes the fate of Anwari Khatoon, who came to Haryana from the eastern state of Jharkhand to visit a relative, accompanied by a man from her village. The man sold her into marriage for 10,000 rupees ($220), to an older man who already had six children from a previous marriage.
The report states that Anwari is a victim of a common problem of women being trafficked as wives or slaves, with the going rate between 4,000 and 30,000 rupees ($88 to $660).
The trend to abortion and infanticide of female daughters means there are about 861 women for every 1,000 men in Haryana. Some experts suggest many of the women end up as sex slaves, often later re-sold to other men. There are at least 45,000 such women from the eastern state of Jharkhand alone.
An abortionist from the same state was jailed last week after a new law came into effect banning sex-selected abortions. Dr. Anil Sabsani was prosecuted for using ultrasound technology to determine the sex of an unborn child for purposes of abortion.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Abortion Doctor in India Jailed Under Female Foeticide Law
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06032906.html