Editor's note: In some Indian villages, girls are sent into prostitution by their families - a tradition that began as religious obligation but is now continued for money. In "Trapped by Tradition," which airs Saturday and Sunday on CNN International, (viewing times below) "Slumdog Millionaire" star Anil Kapoor shows how Indian charities are trying to trying to stop the tradition. CNN has changed Priya and Puja's names.

Bharatpur District, India - She's around 13 years old. She goes to school, loves to sing and dance, and between giggles, she says she dreams of being an actress one day.

Puja hardly looks like a fighter but beneath her smiling face is a steely resolve. She is the first girl in her family to go to school and is determined to finish it. Very few girls in her community have done that.

Puja's mother wasn't given that chance. Priya, now in her late 30s, was forced into prostitution when she was a young girl.

Stories like this are common in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan state in Western India, where girls are sold to brothels, once they hit puberty.

Locals mark this rite of passage with a coming of age ceremony called Nathni Utarna – which translates as taking off the nose ring - that signifies a girl is ready to be sent into the sex trade, that she's considered ready to sleep with her first client.

Plan India, a charity working in the village to wipe out the tradition, says these ceremonies were once common but now it's getting harder to find families to admit they held one.

Ask Anil Kapoor your question

Indian film star Anil Kapoor, as a patron of Plan India, said: "A lot of the rehabilitated women are ensuring that the girls from their families don't get thrown into the practice.

"It's a small step, but one in the right direction. Changing the mindset of the people in the village is key.

"Now that the women themselves are taking a stand against prostitution, I am hopeful, optimistic, we can end this tradition.

He took a CNN Freedom Project crew to the village in Bharatpur district where Puja showed us the progress.

Often, young girls are pushed into the sex business by their own fathers and brothers. The men see nothing wrong with it.

They say it is a tradition that has been passed down through generations. It began with the devdasi culture (devdasi means servant of God).

Under the devdasi system, girls were dedicated to a life of sex work in the name of religion.

Initially, they would serve upper class men in the local community. The girls would entertain princes and landlords with song and dance.

Gradually, this gave way to a life of prostitution. Many women, like Priya, end up in the red light districts of India's major cities.