Financial Times FT.com

Indian farmers sell wives to survive

By James Fontanella-Khan and Varun Sood in Mumbai

Published: September 8 2009 18:13 | Last updated: September 8 2009 18:13

Debt-ridden farmers in north India had resorted in extremis to selling their wives and daughters to money-lenders in recent months as the country suffered one of the worst monsoons in years, said the National Commission for Women, a government body.

At least three cases have been reported in the Bundelkhand region, Uttar Pradesh, of farmers selling female family members for Rs4,000-Rs12,000 (£50-£150), Girija Vyas, the commission’s chairperson, told the Financial Times.

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