A young Indian woman has spoken out about being married to
five husbands, all of whom are brothers. Rajo Verma, 21, lives in one room with
the siblings and they sleep on blankets on the floor. The
mother-of-one, who sleeps each night with a different brother, does not know
which of her five related husbands is the father of her 18-month-old son.The
set-up may seem peculiar, but it is tradition in the small village near Dehradun,
Northern India, for women to also marry the brothers of their first husband.
Rajo and first husband Guddu wed in an arranged Hindu
marriage four years ago.
Since then she has married Baiju, 32, Sant Ram, 28, Gopal,
26, and Dinesh, 19 - the latest in the line of husbands - who married her as
soon as he turned 18.
'We all have sleep with her but I’m not jealous,' first
husband Guddu - who remains the only official spouse - said. 'We’re one
big happy family.'
The ancient Hindu tradition of polyandry was once widely practised in India,
but is now only observed by a minority. It sees a woman take more than one husband, typically in
areas which are male dominated.
In fraternal polyandry the woman is expected to marry each
of her original husband's brothers.
It is thought to have arisen from the popular Sanskrit epic of
Mahabharatha, which sees Draupadi, daughter of the King of Pancha being married
to five brothers.
The practice is also believed to be a way of keeping farming
land in the family.
Rajo said she knew she was expected to accept all of her
husbands, as her own mother had also been married to three brothers.
She said they sleep together in turn, but that they do not
have beds, just 'lots of blankets on the floor'.
She added: 'I get a lot more attention and love than
most wives.'
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