Hundreds of guests from surrounding villages and government officials gathered at the colorful event, which saw eight couples married and 13 others engaged in a huge marquee in Wadia village, 115 km (70 miles) west of Palanpur city in India's Gujarat state. "Prostitution is a tradition which this community adopted for ages and it has been very normal for them. They did not think they were doing anything wrong. But it is uncivilized, indecent," said Vijay Bhatt, development officer for Banaskantha district, which Wadia village is part of. "By marrying and engaging these girls we have been able to break this culture. Once a girl is married, she is out of the profession. Once she is even engaged, she is out of this nexus."
-- Reported by Reuters
