Women in pink saris from Bundelkhand bring their fight against corruption to the capital
Women in pink saris from Bundelkhand bring their fight against corruption to the capital
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Pink siege: Women from Bundelkhand taking part in a rally at Jantar Mantar on Thursday. About 500 women in pink saris raised slogans against corruption pic/Rajeev Tyagi |
Pink chaddi as the calling card of women empowerment is passe. It's the turn of pink saris. And that too not in the virtual realm.
This time, the war for women's right is being waged by a gutsy group from the dusty interiors of Uttar Pradesh, where discrimination against the fairer sex is a way of life.
Gulabi Gang or the pink gang, formed by a group of women from the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, who are waging a war against corruption and government apathy, laid siege to the Capital on Thursday. Their demand: end to corruption in government organisations, equal rights for women and a separate state for Bundelkhand. The bravehearts, armed with pink sticks, are not sparing anyone from their tinted rage. Not even President Pratibha Patil or Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
They have plans to gift pink saris to both the leaders so that they too can join the brigade.
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In charge: Sampat Pal, the group's chief, at the rally in New Delhi on Thursday.
Pic/Rajeev Tyagi |
"If we are not heard, we will return during the Winter Session of Parliament and raise the pitch. We will gift pink saris to Pratibha Patil and Sonia Gandhi to lodge our protest. As women, we expect them to sympathise with our cause," said Sampat Pal, the group's 'commander'.
The group, officially called the Adivasi Mahila Utthan Gram Udyog Seva Sansthan, was formed about a decade ago. "In our villages where food is scarce and there has been a drought-like situation for 10 years, women are the most abused. I realised that under these conditions, a woman has to fight to survive," said Sampat, who claims to have thrashed men who have abandoned or abused their wives and 'taken action' against corrupt babus. Interestingly, even in these male-dominated regions, the gang has managed to strike fear into the hearts of men who misbehave with their women and has grudgingly earned the respect of the local administration.
"We want a separate state so that our people get better facilities," said Sampat.
Ready to help
>>Anita (name changed), a resident of UP's Kaushambi district, was devastated when her daughter ran away with a man from another caste. The girl returned home but the boy refused to marry her. Anita approached the Gulabi Gang. The women in pink compelled the boy to marry Pinki. They also assured the girl's safety at her in-law's house.
>>Asha Nigam wanted to meet rail minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi lodge a complaint against her husband Sanjay Nigam, who is a Railway employee posted in Mumbai. "After 14 years of marriage my husband deserted me and our two children. I met Sampat and she appointed me the area commander of Gulabi Gang's Kanpur wing. After I joined the group, even the cops in Mumbai, who till then were refusing to file a complaint, got into action. Now I want to meet the minister and request her to take action against him," said Asha.
