Sampat Pal Devi

Sampat Pal Devi (* 1961) is a women's rights activist from India and founder of the self-help organization Gulabi Gang .

Life

Sampat Pal Devi comes from the Bundelkhand region in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and gained national fame when she and other women beat up an Indian police officer in 2006 who locked a lower-caste farmer in prison for two weeks without charge. “ My father was a poor low-caste rancher. Unlike my brothers, I was never allowed to go to school. He also had hardly any money for a dowry, "she said in an interview, and:" I don't believe in the caste system . I believe in humanity and equality . "

At the age of twelve she was forcibly married to an ice cream seller 13 years her senior ; Fortunately for her, a nice husband who even supported her when she challenged all common norms with her Gulabi gang and took law into her own hands . At the age of 16, she confronted a neighbor who regularly beat his wife. After Devi had been threatened by him about it, she and several neighbors beat him up and demanded a public apology from him, which she received. Devi gave birth to her first child at the age of 15; with her husband, Devi had five children at the age of 20. In the 1980s she came into contact with the social activist Jai Prakash Shivharey, who spurred Sampat Pal on to stand up for her rights as a woman.

In 2008 she was invited to France to speak about her experiences and a year later participated in a program organized by feminist organizations in France. Sampat Pal Devi lives in the small village of Attara in the Banda district in Uttar Pradesh. No , Devi comments on her actions, she doesn't hate men. But she no longer wanted to stand idly by the injustice. “Nobody comes to our aid here. “The victims of violence, assault, abuse and crime, especially the poor and members of the lower castes, have no advocates - and at the bottom are women who are subject to a medieval code of honor . " In India it is a curse to be at the bottom of the social ladder, but being a woman is at least as difficult ."

Gulabi gang

Formative for the women's rights organization Gulabi Gang , which she initiated, are pink saris and so-called lathis , iron-shod bamboo sticks that are usually used by members of the Indian police. The activists became known for their actions against law enforcement officers who refuse to investigate rape and sexual abuse , or for beating men who have abused women with their lathis .

Activists of the Gulabi Gang in Uttar Pradesh (October 2010)

“ We are not violent and only use our sticks when our self-respect is trampled underfoot. Then the law enforcement officers get a taste of the women's anger, ”says Sampat Pal Devi, explaining her approach.

There were allegations within the Gulabi gang because Sampat Pal Devi supported the congress party and allegedly did not give details of the donations received to the Gulabi gang or did not pay tax on them. Sampat Pal Devi is said to have not been elected in the Manikpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, on an election list of the Congress Party for the Lok Sabha . Since membership in a political party is not compatible with her role as leader of the Gulabi Gang , according to reports that have not been confirmed by the Gulabi Gang , Sampat Dal Devi has not presided over the Gulabi Gang since March 2014 , after the women's movement split in two divided into different factions.

reception

Sampat Pal Devi and the Gulabi Gang were filmed in Pink Saris (2010) by Kim Longinotto and in the documentary Gulabi Gang (2012) by Nishtha Jain.

literature

• Amana Fontanella-Khan: Pink Sari Revolution. Translated from the English by Barbara Schaden. Carl Hanser Verlag , Berlin 2014. ISBN 978-3446245037 .

Web links

• gulabigang.in (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} In the name of the law . fairunterwegs.org. October 8, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Christine Möllhoff: Women gang teaches men to fear . The daily mirror . October 5, 2011. Accessed March 31, 2014.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Sampat Pal: All you need to know about the Gulabi Gang leader . Hindustan Times. March 7, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
4. ↑ Amana Fontanella-Khan: The Baddest Woman in India: Sampat Pal, head of India's vigilante pink gang . slate.com. August 14, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
5. ^ Rajesh Kumar Singh: Gulabi Gang opposes chief Sampat Pal's political aspirations . Hindustan Times. March 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
6. ↑ Susanne Kaiser: Gulabi gang runs the pink sari revolution . Spiegel Online . March 30, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2014.
7. ↑ Gulabi Gang splits, Sampat Pal dethroned . Deccan Chronicle. March 4, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
8. ↑ Renu Singh: Gulabi Gang bowls out Sampat Pal . Times of India . March 5, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
9. ↑ Courageous women at DOK.fest Munich . Bavarian television . April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014.