Blunderbuss Firozabad
Made of Pumpkin pie
"Meet India’s ‘pink-saree crusaders’, the rod wielding vigilantes that strike fear into the hearts of potential abusers through the power of unity and sisterhood – The Gulabi Gang. For the last thirteen years, Sampatpal Devi and her gang have been relentlessly pursuing one vision. To protect the powerless from abuse, and fight corruption to ensure the basic rights of the poor in rural areas and discourage traditions like child-marriages"
"One day when Sampat Pal Devi, a simple woman living in a village in Northern India, saw a man mercilessly beating his wife, she pleaded with him to stop but he abused her as well. The next day she returned with a bamboo stick and five other women and gave the man a sound thrashing."
Sampat Pal is the founder of the Gulabi Gang
" In their intervention, the gang first reasons with the abuser and demands he stop the abuse. If he doesn't comply, the wife joins the gang in thrashing the husband. According to Sampat, the Gulabi Gang has had a 100% success rate in bringing justice to domestic violence complaints and has thrashed hundreds of abusive husbands. "
She says:
"Yes, we fight rapists with lathis [large bamboo sticks]. If we find the culprit, we thrash him black and blue so he dare not attempt to do wrong to any girl or a woman again."
"The members of the Gulabi Gang carry and are trained to use a lathi. Lathis are common weapons in rural areas as they can be created from trees. While the media tends to focus on their violent interventions, the Gulabi Gang tends to use violence as a last resort or in self defense. "
Examples:
" The first known instance of the group using force as a weapon to “protect the powerless” was in 2007. A Dalit woman was raped by a man of a higher caste and the rapist was left scot-free. The villagers and relatives protested to no avail and many of them were put into prison for doing so. The Gulabi Gang took action, charged into the police station and attempted to free the villagers who were put into prison for protesting. They also demanded that a case be made against the rapist. When the policeman refused, they resorted to violence and physically attacked him, forcing him to do his duty."
And:
"When police officers at the Atarra police station refused to lodge a Dalit’s complaint, the group organized a demonstration of over 200 members. They stormed the police station with pink dogs, who they claimed were more loyal and effective than the police, as a "replacement" for the police.[4] The group had invited the media to publicly shame the police officers into doing their jobs."
And:
" In 2011, the gang helped Sheelu Nishad, a 17-year-old girl who had been gang raped. Nishad was arrested after arriving at the police station to file a report. The rapists, which also included a member of the legislature, arrived at the police station first and requested her arrest. The victim's father approached the Gulabi Gang organised two mass demonstrations in front of the police station and legislator's house. "
They also created small businesses and 500 jobs, but also:
" reduce illiteracy among young women and expand education access to lower caste people." by building schools and making education more available for Dalits.
They don't hate men! They hate physical and sexual abuse against anyone.
"While men are not permitted to be members of the gang, many male villagers play an active supporting role"
Men support rallies, and help with administrative tasks that some women can't do because of literacy barriers.
Promoting confidence and community in women.
Here, they're called "Feminazis" as a slur.
Because if you fight back against being beaten or your daughters being raped, that's what you are.
Besides "Feminazi" the go-to terms for trolls and women with internalized misogyny, to silence women?
"Shrill" "Hysterics" "Rabid".
SHRILL
In 2016, it was one of the words Donald Trump used to mock Hillary Clinton. Literally, it means having a high-pitched tone. But when referring to women, it’s as good as saying a woman should be seen and not heard."
HYSTERICS
"The term, with all its problematic history and connotations, was officially out of the medical lexicon—but it’s hung around. When you do a news search on the term, you get some very predictable responses. We’ve got “climate change hysteria,” “rape culture hysteria,” and, of course, “anti-Trump hysteria.”
Now, hysteria often means “overemotional” and is a handy weapon in the arsenal of a tone-policer, whether that’s a politician, major news outlet, or someone in the street. But it takes either a lot of privilege or a lack of empathy to not be emotional when certain topics—like rape, social justice, Trump’s war on reproductive rights—are raised.
In a state where anything they say is to be taken less seriously.
what it really means when someone calls women “hysterical,” what it really means is that they are afraid that other people will listen to them. "
RABID
" Usually directed at women, implying they are irrationally extreme in opinion or practice".
We can just use the search function here and input one of those words. I doubt we'll be surprised by what pops up.
These problems ov DV and child abuse exist, identically, in every single nation and culture. It's not just India.
But those terms I explained, the reluctance of anyone to take reports of rape, DV and child abuse, that it wasn't taken seriously? It was that way in this country until recently. The same terms, and the same sneers at the feminist movement happened. It's not all about insisting women be allowed in private men's clubs or becoming a Marine boot-camp instructor.
Ask your moms and grandmothers if they can remember when a single, divorced, or widowed woman couldn't get a credit card in their name?
In 1974 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed, which allowed women the right to obtain credit cards separate from their husbands or at all. .
1974.
And it was those "shrill hysterical feminazis" that fought for ass (if you're a woman) to be allowed to have that credit card in your wallet in your own name.
That's only a fraction of how you have benefited from the women you now speak against.
Feminism isn't a dirty word.
Go Gulabi Gang!
Gulabi Gang: Breaking The Ceiling With Lathis | #IndianWomenInHistory
Meet India’s ‘pink-saree crusaders’, the rod wielding vigilantes that strike fear into the hearts of potential abusers through the power of unity and sisterhood – The Gulabi Gang.
feminisminindia.com
Gulabi Gang - Wikipedia
I'm Not Hysterical—but You're Sexist
Over the years, people in power have used “hysteria” to denigrate women’s bodies.
Shrill, Mumsy, Bossy… Why Do So Many Gendered Words Undermine Women?
Why do so many gendered words undermine women?
togetherband.org
