Marriage Market- Where Women Are Being Sold

A Ronami Girl

     A market is held in this place where women are being sold in the name of marriage. It was shocking for us to know that even in today where we talk about the gender equality and we are fighting for the equal rights of women, there is a place where such thing is happening.

Location of Bulgaria

     Bulgaria is one such country where the marriage market is still held. But the picture is not the same in all parts of the country. A small community, named Kalaidzhi lives in some parts of Bulgaria. The people of this community are mainly gypsy. They are also known as the Romani. People belonging to this Romani community are present in many parts of Europe but Bulgaria is considered to be the densest.  

India

     The Romani people originated from Northern parts of India. It is assumed that they have the roots in northwestern Indian states like Rajasthan and Punjab. The linguistic evidence has shown that the roots of Romani language lie in India. According to the genetic study in 2012, the ancestors of the present Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes populations of northern India, traditionally known as Doma are the ancestral population of this Romani community. The Romani people emigrated from India to Europe in 600 A.D.

    According to the census of 2011 almost 3.5 lacs Romani people live in Bulgaria amongst them almost 18 thousand people are of the Kalaidzhi tribe. One special feature of this community is the marriage market. The moment a girl child of their community get her menstrual, she is forbidden to continue her schooling. They have to keep themselves away from everything.

Marriage Market of Bulgaria

     The marriage market is held four times a year. All the people of this Kalaidzhi community gather at this market from all parts of Bulgaria. Here unmarried boys are introduced to the girls. They chose their own spouse. But the story does not end here.

Parents Bargaining at Marriage Market

     The actual story starts from here. After that the parents of the boy and girl sit together in a discussion and they start to bargain. If the boy’s parents agree to give huge amount of money, only then the girl’s parents agree to give their daughter’s hand in marriage. It is one of the sources of income for a girl’s parents.

Romani Girl at Marriage Market

      The amount of money depends on the beauty of the girl. One more thing that varies the amount of money is their virginity. A virgin girl gets more money. Normally a girl’s parents get 300-500 dollar for their girl.  They do not find this shameful but they consider it as an act of honour. 

     Sweden’s Milen Larson and Alice Stane made a documentary on this marriage market. They have researched for a long period to collect all the information about their life. Many surprising thing about the Kalaidzhi tribe have come up in their documentary.

A Romani Couple

     Nowadays, many teenagers of the Kalaidzhi tribe are opposing this ritual. But the concept of the marriage market has not ended. Till now every year the marriage market is held in Bulgaria and the girls are being sold in the name of marriage.