Sampat Devi Pal is the founder and leader of a group of women vigilante

Vigilante

A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

s in India's northern Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 state's Banda District

Banda District

Banda district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Banda is the district headquarters. It is a part of Chitrakoot Division.Banda is famous for its Shajar stone, used for making jewellery, and the historically and architecturally significant sites Khajuraho and Kalinjar. Khajuraho is...

, called the "gulabi gang

Gulabi gang

The Gulabi gang is a group of women vigilantes and activists originally from Banda in Bundelkhand district, Uttar Pradesh, India, but reported to be active across North India as of 2010...

" or "pink gang"—so named because many of them wear a uniform of a pink sari

Sari

A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...

.

Although child marriage is illegal in India, she was married at the age of twelve, she tells in her book, Moi, Sampat Pal, chef de gang en sari rose (I, Sampat Pal, gang leader in a pink sari), published by Oh! editions in France in October 2008.

Devi is the wife of an ice cream vendor, a mother of five children and a former government health worker.

External links

• Gulabi Gang website
• trailer of "Pink Gang", documentary about Sampat Pal and Gulabi Gang http://vimeo.com/12211790

Footnotes