HBO Documentary Film Series

Pink Saris (2011x30)

Air date: Nov 30, 2011

Sampat Pal is the leader of the Gulabi Gang (aka the Pink Gang), a vigilante group of women in Northern India distinguished by their distinctive bright pink saris.  Like many other women, Pal was married as a young girl into a family that made her work hard and often beat her.  Unlike most other Indian women, she overcame her problems to become an outspoken, self-described "messiah" for women.             Though domestic abuse is illegal in India, tradition and the caste system are steadfastly upheld by many, especially in the rural areas where the Pink Gang operates.  By tradition, women are not allowed to live with their own parents once they are married, and are at the mercy of the husband's family.  If a woman comes from a lower caste, she is often not allowed to marry a man of higher rank.  Pal's strategy is to expose abusive husbands, in-laws and other offenders by settling family matters out in the open, turning the tables on those who did the damage.