Women in Baghpat subjected to Polyandry

Gaurav Saigal


WOMEN IN western parts of Uttar Pradesh are suffering with a novel phenomenon. They are subjected to polyandry and the reason is strange.

Marginal farmers marry single woman so that their families do not get separated and the piece of land is not divided among brothers.

Baghpat the district that has worst sex ratio 847 against the overall sex ratio in the state 927, has a dubious identity of being the first district in Uttar Pradesh where Polyandry is practiced due to poverty among farmers' community.

“Those farmers who do not hold large piece of land and are dependant upon favourable climatic conditions for crops, opt Polyandry,” said Dhama, a social activist working in the region.

These farmers can neither afford several marriages in the family as this would increase number of family members to be fed and the land they have would be divided among brother, as they believe women would divide brothers.

Many famers here hold very small piece of land while some have already taken loan against the land.

“Poverty has added to decline in sex ratio. As a result some parts of India are facing shortage of girls for marriage and this particular problem in Uttar Pradesh has just begun,” said Dr Neelam Singh, member of the State Advisory Committee.

Like Baghpat other districts of the region too fall in the same category where poor sex ratio and poverty is a bane for women. Muzaffarnagar (857), Meerut (854), Gaziabad (851), Gautam Buddha Nagar (851) are places where sex ratio is poor. Courtesy the hate for girl child and ultrasonology techniques that helps to materialise the hate by determining the sex of the foetus, she said.

The problem is not in the eastern parts of the state as the sex ratio is comparatively better. Districts like Varanasi, Sultanpur, Sonebhadra, Siddarthnagar, Shrawasti, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Kushinagar saw decline in sex ratio but the ratio in all these states is still over 930.