Hyderabad, May 28 -- Nari Kamakshi, an accomplished researcher and an aspiring Phd scholar, had been struggling to get a passport for the past two years because she was the daughter of a Devdasi and hence lacked the father's name required for the processing of her documents.

After a long struggle, she finally received a passport on May 26.

The Devadasi system is a centuries-old tradition where young girls are "offered" as girl children to Goddess Mathamma and made to serve the deity. These women end up being sexually exploited by wealthy men who are temple patrons, as they have no legal or social agency, and face social ostracism. They are bound by the practice under societal pressure.

In an article for TNM, Kamakshi describes her expe...