Wear a Pink Sari and Carry a Big Stick

The article "Wear a Pink Sari and Carry a Big Stick" posted on Slate.com is completely different from any topic we discussed in class. This article examines women's gangs that are rising in India to combat corruption in government and to defend women against injustices. The particular gang in the article was founded and is led by a 40-year-old woman named Sampat Pal Devi. According to the article, the gang started in 2006 as a way for women to look out for victims of domestic violence. When the gang would find out that a woman was a victim of domestic violence they would arrive at the house and demand that the husband stop the abuse. If the abuse continued, the gang of women would return to the house with bamboo sticks and "'persuade'" (as the article states) the husband to stop. Today, Sampat Pal Devi has a huge following of nearly 20,000 women and similar groups are cropping up around India. Some of these groups are even more violent and one group even killed a serial rapist and murderer after the courts failed to convict him.

Honestly, I was shocked to read this article. You do not often read about all-women gangs or groups of women resorting to violence. We talked a lot in class about how more women in leadership roles would create more positive change in the public and private sector. We talked about women being seen traditionally as collaborators and communicators. We did not talk about women who used weapons and fear to get their message across. In a heavily patriarchal society like India could women have brought about this sort of change without violence? Or do the men in power only respond to these women as a legitimate force because they can relate to the methods they are using? Is it taking women so long to rise to power in the United States because they are not using the methods traditionally used by men?

As a woman, I completely understand why these women are banning together and fighting corruption and injustice in India. However, I completely disagree with their methods. What is this teaching future generations? That force and fear is the only way to create change? Their continued methods of force and fear only seem to perpetuate the problem whereas by fighting this corruption and injustice in a peaceful manner could break the cycle.