Virgin Market in Europe

At the bride market in Bulgaria, young girls aged 15 and over, who must be virgins, will dress sexily to attract rich men looking for wives.

Here, the "items" that market-goers sell or need to buy are virgins aged 15-18. The market has existed for a long time and is held four times a year.

The "main characters" are young virgin girls from the Roma community in Bulgari.

The "main characters" are young virgin girls from the Roma community in Bulgaria (also known as Kalaidzhi). They will put on elaborate makeup, fix their beauty and wear sexy, eye-catching clothes, dance to vibrant music to attract young men - men who come to the market to find a wife for themselves. For this reason, this market is also called "bride market".

The buyers are unmarried men. The brides mostly come from poor families in the community. The parents of the girls bring their children here with the aim of finding rich partners for their children to have a better life. The price of a virgin girl at the market is usually around 290 - 350 USD. However, the price can be much higher depending on the agreement between the groom and the bride's family, or the outstanding beauty of the bride.

Milka Minkova, 13, poses with her husband, Ivan Ankov, 17, at the bride market. Photo: AFP.

To prepare their two daughters for marriage, Vera and Christo spent a week's worth of money on clothes for Pepe and Rossi. "If the brides were not virgins when they were sold, they would insult us, calling the children prostitutes and making them shameful women," Vera said.

Pepa, Vera's daughter, agrees with her mother's point of view: "WomenKalaidzhi must be a virgin when they get married, this is very important. Because if they are virgins, they will be bought at a very high price."

Pepa’s cousin said it was a scary market. Parents of brides had the right to decide to marry their daughter to a rich man instead of a poor man, even if the girl loved the poor man.

The young bride laughs happily in the market where she is an "item". Photo: AFP.

In addition to grooms coming to find wives, the market also welcomes tourists to visit and join in the bustling buying and selling atmosphere here.

Bride markets and this form of trade have been strongly condemned by European society, especially Eastern Europe. However, the large Roma community, more than 18,000 people, has fiercely defended their cultural traditions.

According to Pamporov, a researcher of traditional Roma culture for more than two decades, girls used to leave school to get married. Nowadays, thanks to modern media, many girls have refused to sell themselves in the bride market. However, the majority still follow this old custom.

Milene Larsson, a Swedish filmmaker who has made a documentary about the strange tradition, said she has spoken to many of the young brides. Many expressed their fears and concerns about having to live with men they do not love. They also spoke about their secret wishes and dreams that they cannot continue to pursue because of this custom.

According to VNE