In India, a women’s work, whether in the fields, factories, or at home, is not recognized and, therefore, they cannot provide for themselves. Due to this they forcibly enter into marriages just so they can fulfill simple necessities to survive. Every year the country experiences many dowry related deaths. The majority of femicide that takes place is solely due to the economic stability, rather instability, of the families. Women are seen as a burden and to compensate for this the groom to be only accepts large dowries.

India is a man’s country where women serve no purpose other then producing children.When a male is born it is seen as joyous celebration because they are seen as the money makers. They will one day marry a women whose family will have to pay them large sums of money. Many of these families cannot afford the price it cost to marry their daughters off. So what does that mean for young Indian females? The answer is simple; death.

Women’s rights activist Ruchira Gupta says, “We put very little value to girls and to women, So they’re always in danger from birth to death.” If a girl is fortunate enough to survive into adulthood she most likely faces a life full of abuse and oppression. Many women are so accustomed to the patriarchal lifestyle that they live in fear of the possibility of no change ever occurring. Well never fear for the Gulabi Gang is here.

The Gulabi Gang is a group of women who have banded together to protect the rights of fellow Indian women. They attack corrupt government officials and men who have wronged their wives. Soutik Biswas from BBC News says “[These] women in pink have thrashed men who have abandoned or beaten their wives.” They have taken the law into their hands in response to the careless treatment of women. These women are applauded for actions and they show a tremendous amount of courage.

This gang of vigilante women are determined to make a change in India. Now that being said, they are not in the business of taking wives away from their families. Women go to the group when they have been kicked out by their husbands usually because of dowry related issues. The group seeks justice for these women and for the most part have a high success rate for reuniting a husband and wife.

It is beyond unfortunate that each year nearly one million girls are aborted because of money. The dowry system has become so ingrained into the society that families would rather kill their children than face the future of one day going bankrupt in order to marry their daughters off. Fortunately, because of women like the Gulabi Gang there is hope that one day Indian women may experience equality.

Works Cited

Goldberg, B. Allen. Dooley, Sean “Disappearing Daughters: Women Pregnant With Daughters Pressured Into Abortion” December 9, 2011. AbcNews.com

Biswas, Soutik, “India’s ‘Pink’ Vigilante Women” November 27,2007. BBCNews.com