Monday, November 24, 2008

The Pink Sari Gang

There is a gang of women in India who have taken matters into their own hands.

Tired of officials turning a blind eye to crimes against women, corruption, and caste prejudice, these women have banded together under the leadership of Sampat Pal Devi in order to shame wrongdoers and, at times, beat sense into bad husbands and corrupt officials.

They number in the hundreds, carry big sticks, and are earning the grudging respect of officials in Bundelkhand, a desperately poor region in Uttar Pradesh.

You can read about the Gulabi (which means "pink") Gang in these two articles:

India's 'pink' vigilante women from the BBC News and,

The pink vigilantes: The Indian women fighting for women's rights from the Daily Mail online (and from which article the above picture comes).

I wish this would happen all over the world. One cowering woman is easy to make submit, 700 women with big sticks is another thing altogether. And when they come knocking on your door to ask why you've just beaten your wife, things may not go your way.

Personally, I think the Amazons of myth were real and that they began in a similar manner - a group of women who banded together, tired of being treated poorly.

3 comments:

Q said...

I had not heard about these brave women! Thank you.
Good for them.
I will share this with my daughter and my women friends. I agree, the Amazon women of myth were real....
they had just had it with the men being bullies.
Sherry

ICQB said...

Hi Sherry!

When I shared this with my daughter she said, "Where can I sign up?"

She's feisty.

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