Pink sari revolution : a tale of women and power in the badlands of India

Illuminates The Thrilling Possibilities Of Female Grassroots Activism In India Through The Story Of Sampat Pal And Her Pink Gang. Prologue: Nothing Can Go Wrong -- A Rose In The Badlands -- Bandits On Ballots -- The Red Room -- Love In Bundelkhand -- Everything Wrong Has Happened -- The Exorcist Of Shahbajpur -- The Sound Of The Bugle -- The Scramble For Sheelu. Amana Fontanella-khan. Includes Bibliographical References. **A triumphant portrait of a fiery sisterhood changing the lives of India's women.** In Uttar Pradesh—known as the "badlands" of India—a woman’s life is not entirely her own. This is one explanation for how Sheelu, a seventeen-year-old girl, ended up in jail after fleeing her service in the home of a powerful local legislator. In a region plagued by corruption, an incident like this might have gone unnoticed—except that it captured the attention of Sampat Pal, leader of India’s infamous Gulabi (Pink) Gang. Poor and illiterate, married off around the age of twelve, pregnant with her first child at fifteen, and prohibited from attending school, Sampat Pal has risen to become the courageous commander and chief of a women’s brigade numbering in the tens of thousands. Uniformed in pink saris and carrying pink batons, they aim to intervene wherever other women are victims of abuse or injustice. Joined in her struggle by Babuji, a sensitive man whose intellectualism complements her innate sense of justice, and by a host of passionate field commanders, Sampat Pal has confronted policemen and gangsters, officiated love marriages, and empowered women to become financially independent. In a country where women’s rights struggle to keep up with rapid modernization, the story of Sampat Pal and her Pink Gang illuminates the thrilling possibilities of female grassroots activism. "In Uttar Pradesh--known as the "badlands" of India--a woman's life is not entirely her own. This is one explanation for how Sheelu, a seventeen-year-old girl, ended up in jail after fleeing her service in the home of a powerful local legislator. In a region plagued by corruption, an incident like this might have gone unnoticed--except that it captured the attention of Sampat Pal, leader of India's infamous Gulabi (Pink) Gang. Poor and illiterate, married off around the age of twelve, pregnant with her first child at fifteen, and prohibited from attending school, Sampat Pal has risen to become the courageous commander and chief of a women's brigade numbering in the tens of thousands. Uniformed in pink saris and carrying pink batons, they aim to intervene wherever other women are victims of abuse or injustice. Joined in her struggle by Babuji, a sensitive man whose intellectualism complements her innate sense of justice, and by a host of passionate field commanders, Sampat Pal has confronted policemen and gangsters, officiated love marriages, and empowered women to become financially independent. In a country where women's rights struggle to keep up with rapid modernization, the story of Sampat Pal and her Pink Gang illuminates the thrilling possibilities of female grassroots activism."--Publisher's description Sampat Pal was married at twelve, essentially illiterate. Today she leads a vigilante group fighting for women's rights: the Pink Gang. When Sheelu was arrested for stealing from a powerful politician, she was sure that she would be forced to accept a prison sentence, not least because she alleged that she had been abused b y a man in the politician's household. But then Sampat Pal heard word of the charges, and the formidable commander of the pink-sari-wearing, pink-baton-wielding, 20,000-strong 'Pink Gang' decided to shake things up. In the story of Sampat Pal and the Pink Gang's fight for Sheelu, as well as others facing injustice and oppression, Amana Fontanella-Khan delivers a riveting portrait of women grabbing fate with their own hands - and winning back their lives. Sampat Devi Pal was married at 12, and essentially illiterate. Today she leads a vibrant vigilante campaign that's securing women's rights across India: the Pink Gang. When Sheelu was arrested for stealing from a powerful politician in the badlands of India, she was sure that she would be forced to accept a prison sentence, not least because she alleged that she had been abused by a man in the politician's household. But then Sampat Devi Pal heard word of the charges, the formidable commander of the pink-sari-wearing, pink-baton-weilding, 20,000-strong Gulabi Gang, aka the 'Pink' Gang, decided to shake things up. This is the story of Sampat Devi Pal and her Pink Gang Acknowledgments Prologue: nothing can go wrong A rose in the badlands Bandits on ballots The red room Love in Bundelkhand Everything wrong has happened The exorcist of Shahbajpur The sound of the bugle The scramble for Sheelu Epilogue Notes.