Dera Sacha Sauda members to marry sex workers

Nearly 1,400 male members of the sect gave their consent to marry sex workers, six to tie knot today

Keeping with their word on fighting for the rights of women who have been forced into prostitution, six members of Dera Sacha Sauda, a religious sect, will marry sex workers in Sirsa today.
Last month, members of the sect congregated in Delhi and announced their initiative to fight trafficking of women. Nearly 1,400 male members of the sect gave their consent to marry sex workers.

"Just like we announced, the first batch of members of the Dera Sacha Sauda will tie the knot with sex workers today. We are, however, awaiting the results of the Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT), which tests for HIV, of some of the women before solemnising the process," said Aditya Insaan, spokesperson of the group. Explaining how they went about it, Insaan said they got in touch with NGOs across the country to reach out to sex workers.

"We got a very good response. However, since marriage involves two people, we had to be careful in the process. So, the women were medically tested and counselled by a psychologist in order to ensure that they were in the right frame of mind to take this step," he said.

Jab they met
"Thereon, an interaction between the men and the women was set up. They met three-four times and were given time to take a final decision. It was ensured that none of the women was below 18 years of age and the men were in a position to support them financially," Insaan said.

When asked if the men's families were supportive of the decision, Insaan said that in most cases they were.
"In a few where families were not supporting, it was ensured that the men were financially sound. Also, about 300 families have come forward to adopt sex workers who are still minors," he added.u00a0