Pink Saris: Flouting Taboos to Defend Women
For her latest film, ”Pink Saris” (2010), British documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto spent 10 months in rural India. There, she followed Sampat Devi Pal, the feisty founder of the Gulabi Gang, a women’s activist group which takes its name from the color of their bright pink, or ‘gulabi,’ saris.
After escaping a marriage she was forced into at an early age, Ms. Pal started helping other women in rural areas stand up for their rights and dignity too. She has recruited many of those she helped and in recent years has become something of popular hero, standing as a beacon of hope for women who suffer domestic abuse in her native Uttar Pradesh. But the bigger battle Ms. Pal has been waging is that against the culture of honor and shame which runs deep in village communities, a culture which often allows acts of abuse to go unnoticed.
Rather than tell the story of Ms. Pal, the documentary shows her in action, as she brings family dramas–which range from unwanted marriages to rape–into the public light. (“I don’t like commentaries and I don’t want to be told what matters… I like to see things happen,” explained Ms. Longinotto in a recent interview.)
Oh
I had nine lives but I lost all of them
And I’ve been searching in the night
And I’ve been searching in the rain
I tried to find them, but they disappeared
They walked away, they dressed in black, they left my side
And all I say is that I wasted time when I looked for them
For now I know that things gone past are never to be found again
No never, never again
I had nine lives, but lost all of them
I just want to warn you that this is a very shocking and depressing documentary.
Women need to learn how to be more supportive of one another, especially in this Country. So many women in America, particularly in the workplace are cut-throat competitive with each other instead. So many older women are very jealous of the younger ones. Men are much better about sticking together and forming alliances here.
There is power in unity. Until women get that and stop undermining one another in an attempt to SHINE, there will be problems.
That is so true!
Zim Zallabim!
Well, that was interesting.
Zimaluyah!
Zimphonious!
Sing it! The Cat Empire rules!
Ironic… Considering you never call.