'Dhadicha': The controversial "Wives on Rent" custom in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri

Have you ever heard of a market where you can rent a woman as wife? In Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri, families offer their daughters or wives for rent in ‘Dhadicha’ custom.

Every year a market is set up in the village, where people come to this market from far and wide to get women on ‘rent’ based on the ‘deals’ they strike.

A formal agreement is drafted, on a stamp paper of Rs 10 to Rs 100, for any woman ‘bought’ from this market. The deal is generally locked for Rs. 15,000/- to 25,000/- per bride but can go up to a few lakhs. Virgin women fetch a higher price.

The valuation of a bride is based on the duration for which the man intends to rent her out, whether by the hour, day, week, month, or year. When the stipulated period concludes, the deal can either be renewed with the same individual or a new deal can be established with another man, leading the bride to be rented out to a different person. However, the women have the right to refuse the ‘deal’.

The deeply distressing aspect of the Dhadicha custom is that girls being offered for rent are as young as 6 years old. These minor girls face sexual exploitation even before reaching puberty. Several parents even administer a particular drug to these girls to make their breasts grow faster, in order to command a higher price.