In a bizarre ritual, young girls are forced to live at a temple bare chested in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The administration decided to spare the girls anymore indignity and ordered they should be allowed to cover their bodies.
At the temple, seven girls are decked up in jewelry like the goddesses and no cloth to cover their chests. The girls are sent to the temple before they hit puberty and made to spend 15 days in the care of a male priest.
Madurai Collector, K. Veera Raghava Rao reported that the girls don’t have a say and stated, “It is an ancient custom. Parents send their girls voluntarily.”
The collector ordered the temple to give the girls clothes to ensure they are not being abused or harassed.
He was quoted saying, “We informed the villages that the girls have to be properly clothed. They can wear jewelry over their clothes.”
The Collector also reported that after a team of officials investigated the temple it was found that none of the children were abused. Rao said, “They treat them as goddesses.”
More than 60 villages in the area participate at the temple and worship the girls like goddesses. The news came to light after The Covai Post uploaded a video of the bare chested girls on the internet.
