The Gulabi Gang is located in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in India. In India women are treated more like objects, there are high rates of domestic abuse, rape (and gang-rape) towards women in this country. 88% of women have begun to accept when their husbands beat them (Hackett, 2011). Domestic abuse is a frequent occurrence within this country and is tolerated by security forces and politicians when it involves dowry disputes, sexual infidelity, disobedience towards a husband or male in general and if a woman has neglected to complete her household duties.

 

The Gulabi Gang was started in 2006 in the poorest and one of the most populated areas in the country. Over 20% of its 1.6 million people living in 600 villages are lower castes or "untouchables" (Biswas, 2007). In the area of Uttar and Madhya Pradesh, there are substantial amounts of lower castes and widows, who are treated the most harshly in social terms. Sati is a custom within this region that forces widows to throw themselves onto the funeral pyres of their husbands. More than 1/4th of the politicians in the legislative assembly had been charged with criminal offenses including and not limited to attempted murder, rape, extortion, and kidnapping (Khan, 2012). 11 villages in Atarra (Uttar Pradesh region) are indebted to loan sharks.

 

The Gulabi Gang or "Pink Sari Gang" fights for equality and justice for not only women, but for the lower castes, and "untouchables" who are oppressed by the corrupted politicians who take advantage of their power. The gang wears pink saris as a symbol of unity, womanhood, and strength. The pink color was actually decided by Samprat Pal because in India colors are always associated to a political or religious group and the color pink had no associations with it. The gang has over 20,000 members, which is double the size of the Irish army, and eight times the size of the estimated number of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan (Khan, 2012). The Gulabi Gang is known for and has power within their number of members. A core goal of the gang is to teach women about self-defense; the women carry around Lathis which are similar to bamboo sticks, these sticks are only used when the men they approach result to being physically violent. Samprat Pal claimed that they were also used to scare off stray dogs as well.

 

The Gulabi Gang fights for rights that are being taken away from them; women are not educated and are married off to be treated analogously to slaves. The Gulabi Gang wishes to change the system that they live in for themselves and the future generations of people in India. What is unique about the Gulabi Gang that is observed is that this group was first started by a strong woman convincing other women to fight against unjust men who believed that women hold no role in society other than to please and serve them. This gang is more relatable to groups in the United States such as the Global/Transnational Feminist group and the Women of Color Feminists as they not only address the issues within gender, but they account for class as well. This group is interesting in the sense that they take what they believe to be true and what they wish to change in society into their own hands, literally. They are one of the largest groups that fight for women's rights on a global scale.