DRAFT PROPOSAL ON PREVENTON OF DEVDASI, JOGEN ACT 2011

Concept Note
The practice of Devdasi has been prevalent in India for the past 1200 years. However, once highly revered, the status of women engulfed in this practice has degraded exponentially. This practice involved the donation of the first girl child of every Dalit family to the nearest temple. However, with time this practice came to be synonymous with trafficking and forced prostitution. The biggest problem is that there are over five lakh women who are subjected to this deplorable treatment of selling their souls. It is therefore necessary to enact a Central legislation to curb and proscribe the problem at hand. In pursuance to the same, broad themes have been selected which encompasses the nature, scope, magnitude, effect and remedies of the problem. These themes shall form a part of a series of Working Papers which will be attached to the draft legislation. These themes have been enumerated as under:

Theme I History of Devdasis and Jogen practices and the forms in which it is prevalent. Theme II A Socio Economic critique on the practice of Devdasi and Jogen pratha. Theme III Devdasis and Jogen Practices as specific instances of Human Trafficking and Forced Prostitution. Theme IV Constitutional Provisions addressing the practice of Devdasi and Jogen. Theme V Critical Analysis of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956. Theme VI Critical Analysis of the provisions of Indian Penal Code to address specific instances of Devdasi and Jogen tradition. Theme VII Critical Analysis of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. Theme VIII Critical analysis of Suppression of Immoral Traffic in women and Girls Act, 1956.

Theme IX Government Policies to curb instances of Devdasis and Jogen practices. Theme X Reports of the National Commission for Women and National Commission for Minorities on Devdasis and Jogen tadition. Theme XI International Covenants with respect to the Rights of women against forced Prostitution and Trafficking. Theme XII Critical Analysis f the Reports of the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (C.E.D.A.W. ) with particular reference to insnces of trafficking and forced prostitution. Theme XIII Critical Appraisal of Project Combat launched by the National Legal Services Authority. Theme XIV Critical Analysis of the Karnataka Devdasi Act, 1984 and Andhra Pradesh Devdasi Act, 1988.

A minimum of two members shall work on a particular theme. However, these themes form a part of the broader spectrum , the Researchers can limit the scope of their research.