I saw this story a couple days ago in a few places, and I just love it. A group of women in India--wives and mothers mostly--call themselves the "gulabi gang," or pink gang. They have uncovered corruption in grain distribution to the poor, and beat down men who attacked or abandoned their wives. And when I say "beat down," I mean it. Like, with sticks. First they try talking, and if that fails, it's gulabi gang kicking ass. In an area rampant with discrimination against the poor and women, the gulabi gang get things done.
The leader, Sampat Pal Devi, is a mother of five. She was a child bride, married off at 12, who fought for the right to attend school against the will of her parents. She says, "Nobody comes to our help in these parts. The officials
and the police are corrupt and anti-poor. So sometimes we have to take
the law in our hands. At other times, we prefer to shame the wrongdoers." Awww yeah. She adds, "Mind you, we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice." Look, I often find vigilantism creepy, but this case is different, and this story just makes me get all fired up. Now the gang is continuing to work on crime and corruption, and Sampat Devi would like to see changes in education for girls and the ages girls can be married. I'm telling you, don't mess with the gulabi gang.
Photo: BBC
