Wanderings

I can't believe that I went for a time with Katy Perry being my idol, but I am proud to announce that ideal has been OUSTED. How could Katy Perry hold up against an Indian woman who leads a gang female vigilantes, dressed in hot pink saris, carrying sticks, beating up rapists and abusive husbands and threatening the police force? This woman is actually my earthly hero. I aspire to do, on some level, what she's doing, be it through song and sass and subversive stand up comedy and banding women together and encouraging them to intimidate misogynists and carry spray bottles of glitter in their purse to defend against sexual harassment.

Because enough, is enough, is enough. I was recently chastised by a friend for celebrating a Turkish woman who decapitated her rapist and marched around a village square holding his head and showing it to other men. I'm sorry- wait, NO, I'm NOT sorry- I think that is fucking awesome. 

And guess what? I hate violence. I HATE the amounts of gratuitous disgusting violence that we are saturated with in our society. I also hate female oppression. And misogyny. And rape. And I think the patriarchy needs a little friendly reminder that there are wrathful female deities in the cosmos, and guess what, they're arriving en masse. That spirit is awakening in me, it is awakening in others, it has clearly awakened in these women and I want to dedicate my life to helping facilitate that awakening. I cannot think of a more perfect way to embody that wrathful energy than gangs of women in hot pink saris beating people up with gigantic bamboo sticks. When I see their example, my anger over feminine oppression turns to a shiver of glee- like "The fun is just beginning!" 

KALI MA, KALI MA, KALI MA! 

"There are so many struggles that women here have to go through, it never seems to stop," Pal says, wiping her forehead with the edge of her sari. "We don't like using violence, but sometimes that's the only way people listen."

                                               

 "I am the commander of the Gulabi Gang. I started the association in the 1990s, but I named it the Gulabi Gang two years ago. We aim to empower women, promote child education with an emphasis on girls, and stop corruption and domestic violence. I visit numerous villages every day and meet the various members of the gang. We have gang meetings where we decide the plan of action if we hear of something that we oppose going on. First we go to the police and request that they do something. But since the administration is against the poor people of our country, we often end up taking matters into our own hands. We first speak to the husband who is beating his wife. If he doesn’t understand then we ask his wife to join us while we beat him with lathis. Our missions have a 100 percent success rate. We have never failed in bringing justice when it comes to domestic problems. Dealing with the administration is the tricky part since we cannot always take the law in our hands—especially with such corrupt lawmakers. We did beat up some corrupt officials but we were ultimately helpless. The goons of the corrupt officials and the political parties constantly threaten me. Once, a few goons came and threatened to shoot me down, but the women came to my rescue and threw bricks at them and they ran away. They haven’t come back since. Although most of the time I travel alone, I am not scared of anyone. My women are with me, and they are my strength. My family didn’t always support me going out and doing what I do, but when I resisted and explained to my husband, he understood and has supported me since. It isn’t easy to do this. I have no money. I travel everywhere on an old bicycle. Some of our supporters help us with small donations and charity. I want this movement to carry on and would like support from international or local agencies. I work on a grassroots level and want to set up a small-scale industry for the poor villagers that I work with. We have talented young men and women who can make organic manure, candles, Ayurvedic medicines, and pickles. They could earn a decent livelihood. If I get funded, I can set up a stitching center for women who can then support their families. The future of the Gulabi Gang is bright. It’s a people’s movement and will grow bigger and bigger in the future provided we get support from the local administration."

When I throw a "Rebel Princess" party later this summer, it will bring together a variety of feminist groups in the Bay Area and be a fundraiser for the Gulabi Gang!!

http://www.gulabigang.in