Pink Ladies

I read an article last week in one of my fashion mags (stop snickering!) about a group of women in India known as the Gulabi(pink) gang, after the bright pink saris they wear as their uniform. They are a group of vigilantes started by a 47 year old mother of five, whose friend was being beaten by her alcoholic husband. When they sought help from the local police, they were told that nothing would be done. So the woman gathered dozens of neighboring women and taught them to fight back. Armed with traditional fighting sticks, these women, part of the "untouchable" caste, have beaten up accused rapists, corrupt officials, and abandoning husbands. Now numbering in the hundreds, these women don't need to resort to violence anymore to get their point across. Just the sight of their bright pink saris and the knowledge that they are coming is enough.
Reading this article made me want to go out and buy a pink sari myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that vigilantism is the answer to everyone's problems, but I think that solidarity is definitely a step in the right direction. Violence among women is a huge epidemic in all across the globe. The strange thing is though, that women outnumber men the world over.
But there is strength in numbers. Armies throughout history have made sure to look their fiercest and make a good showing of their size to allow the mere sight of them to strike fear into their enemies. So maybe if we just learned to stand together when we see someone, man or woman, being beaten down, like those women in India, the sheer sight of us would be enough to make anyone think twice before they ever tried to hurt someone again.
Of course, carrying a big stick might help, too.