Photo: helgasms!
One day in late January 2009, some young women in a pub in the city of Mangalore, in Karnataka, India, were beaten up by members of the group that calls itself the Sri Ram Sena. This political group, headed by a man named Pramod Muthalik, felt the women were degrading traditional Indian values by being in a pub where alcohol and the company of men were easily accessible.
The name of the group literally means “The army of Ram” – Ram is a Hindu god – and the men subsequently threatened to marry off any couple found in public celebrating Valentine’s Day.
By early February 2009, Nisha Susan and her friends initiated The Pink Chaddi Campaign against the moral policing of Indian women by Sri Ram Sena. The Pink Chaddi Campaign is a non-violent protest that has received tremendous support from people in India and the world over.
Photo: krinish
Hailed by many members of the press as a brilliant Gandhian political strategy, the Pink Chaddi Campaign urged people to mail pink underwear to Muthalik and the members of Sri Ram Sena as a Valentine’s Day present.
It also urged a nationwide pub crawl on Valentine’s Day, where women and men were requested to walk freely into pubs and raise a toast to Indian women and their rights.
On Valentine’s Day, Pramod Muthalik was taken into preventive custody by the government. Meanwhile, pink panties arrived by the dozens in the Sri Ram Sena office.
The Facebook group for the movement, A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose, and Forward Women, has played a major role in raising awareness about the campaign in urban India. The group and the fan page for the campaign provide a forum for active discussion and debate about the issues involved – the campaign has been thoroughly dissected and analyzed, celebrated and reviled, criticized and praised all over cyberspace.
The Pink Chaddi Campaign has also sparked many discussions offline among people who enthusiastically support it, violently oppose it, or are somewhere in between. Those in between question the political efficacy of such a campaign; some express support for the intentions but disagree with certain methods. Some conservatives also express their distaste for women who like to go to pubs, citing reasons with phrases such as “traditions” and “corrupting innocence” and “culture” bandied about.
As a young woman in urban India, I sent in a pink chaddi without delving too deeply into the political repercussions or analyzing the effectiveness of the strategy of the campaign. As someone who faces the pressures of street sexual harassment and other forms of woman baiting and suppression, I joined the Facebook page and sent in a note along with the underwear to play my part in the movement.
Photo: jaroslavd
I sent in the panties with two other friends, a man and a woman. We all signed our names, and my male friend put in “Woman Lover” beside his signature, while I scribbled the highly imaginative line “I am not afraid of you” after staring at the paper for a long time.
After all, what do you say to a group that thinks a woman’s right to be wherever she wants is against Indian culture, and beating her up is acceptable to and good for this so-called culture?
Young Indian people often find the dichotomy of their culture proclaimed by certain politicians and the actual nature of this culture ironic. This is the issue addressed by the new steps being taken by the Pink Chaddi Campaign– video testimonials inviting participants to define Indian culture.
As Nisha Susan says in her article in The Observer, Indian women are aware of the fragile nature of their rights and it looks like the political agenda of certain bigoted groups citing culture as a justification for their atrocities is now being challenged by thinking young Indians all over the country.
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21 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thanks Tim!
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Wonderful article Shreya! I joined the Facebook group, along with several women from my church – I think it was after V Day but before all the hacking that occurred to that group. I did so in support of the rights of women in general to be treated with respect, and in particular as a gesture of solidarity with my Indian friends, both men and women, who believe that Indian women should be free to determine their own behavior and the course of their lives. I admire Nisha Susan for coming up with a creative way to attempt to combat the arrogance and bigotry that leads to groups like Sri Ram Sena, and to get the nation, indeed, the world, talking about the issues.
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Thanks a bunch Georgia! I think the most brilliant thing about the campaign is that it makes fun of the fundamentalists. I have learned over time that this is in fact the best way to deal with bullies. I used to yell at people who harassed me on the street, but now more and more I find myself making fun of them using sarcasm and humor in general, and it works much better. It makes them feel/look like an idiot and I’m sure at least some of them will think twice before harassing a woman again.
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Great article. I’d heard nothing about this in the mainstream U.S. media, so thanks for bringing it to my attention! From their website, it seems like the movement is still going strong–excellent.
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Thanks for posting this! I wasn’t aware of it – very interesting
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A well written article there. This has been a long standing issue with the Indians. On one hand we aim to be liberal and be modern and on the other hand there exist these elements who, although being quiet the hooligans themselves, try to teach us the moral values. My only question is – Is manhandling a woman and slapping her, throwing her to the ground, pushing her around under the full media eye a part of our so called culture? I have not been able to find that answer yet.
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What a wonderful way to raise awareness. Thanks for the article, Shreya.
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Hal, yeah they’re still going strong, I hope they continue to. Hal and Carlo, I am glad I was able to bring this to your notice, thanks so much for your comments.
Rohan, it’s great to see the sheer number of Indian guys who support the movement: I’m not saying I am surprised, but very very encouraged, thank you!
Strawbehry – thank you for taking the time to read the article, I appreciate it!
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A novel idea and a titillatingly good article, Shreya. Ghandi would be proud.
They say (and have done studies) demonstrating that pink can calm the wild beast. Maybe that’s why the drunk tanks in American jails are usually pink (or so I’ve heard
Sri Ram Sena should look out. Chaddi power is taking effect.
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Haha, thanks so much! I’d like to take a look at those studies…
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Drunk tanks in the states are pink? oh god, that would be a horrific hangover.
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Shreya,
Though I am a tee-total middle aged man who does not attend night clubs, the choice to drink or not drink or go out to night clubs should be your to make. Take advice from your elders but making choices is what growing up is about. Socialising with friends in whatever enviroment is part of that process. You don’t have to be in a night club to do the “wrong thing”.
Sri Ram Sena reminds me more of teleban in Pakistan and Afghanistan than a tolerant and diverse India. They bring dishonour and shame to India.
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Mr Singh, thanks – a lot of people feel like they are protecting young people from harm by imposing certain restrictions on them, but I’ve seen this approach backfire more times than I can count. And here I think the issue is more with controlling young women’s behavior than with the guys. I agree with you about the utterly erroneous notion that risky behavior only occurs in nightclubs. Let the young people choose what they want to do with their time!
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Looks like the Facebook group’s been taken down, and someone from London has tried to get a mirror group going again, but it’s only got about 80 members now. Anybody know what happened/is happening regarding the original group?
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Great piece Shreya – I wasn’t aware of this group. I’m glad you are making sure people know about this!
Ruth x
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Hi
Great idea. Living in Danmark it is hard to belive that women are getting discriminated just because they want to do what the men are doing all the time. Keep up the non violent fight against Sri Ram Sena and other fundamentalistic organisations.
Mister S
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A campaign that will hopefully have the desired effect and make all men in India join the 21st century and accept that change has to happen. As well as the fact that woman have a freedom of choice just like they do.
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Respect.
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This is Brilliant!!!!!
I am an Indian woman living in Australia.
Women have the right to go and do as they wish….just as their male counterparts do. It makes my blood boil to think women are STILL being treated in such a primitive and suppressive fashion.
WHO gives these neanderthals the right to take matters into their own feeble, pitiful, pathetic hands?
Give me an hour in a room with them…problem solved.
Stand up for your rights Ladies….Good on you Shreya!!!
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