粉紅娘子軍傳奇

在印度最貧窮而邊遠的北部班達地區，有一支由女性組成的義務警隊，專門對付腐敗官員、家庭暴力，挑戰不公平的種姓制度，爭取女性權力。她們身穿美麗的粉紅色紗麗，成為了充滿傳奇色彩的“粉紅娘子軍”。

Under a 1)scorching summer sun， a swarm of 400 furious women 2)engulfed the 3)scruffy electricity office of Banda district in north India. They were all dressed identically in 4)fluorescent pink 5)saris. For more than a fortnight they and their families had had no electricity， plunged into darkness at dusk and stewed in sweat at dawn. But they had all been sent bills demanding payment for power they had never received.

There are few places on earth where life is as short and brutal as in Bundelkhand， the 6)desolate region straddling the southern tip of Uttar Pradesh where Banda lies. Farming is the principal livelihood; wages are as little as 60p a day for men and half that for women. Bonded and child labour are 7)rife. Corruption is routine. Its reputation in India is that of a place where people still die of hunger.

But what has made Bundelkhand infamous is 8)banditry. Scores born out of feudalism and 9)caste violence are settled by bullets. It was here that 10)Phoolan Devi， the Bandit Queen of India， used to lead her gang of robbers in vicious acts of 11)retribution on rich， upper-caste villagers.

Products of this cruel environment， the hundreds of pink-12)clad women knew that their electricity supply had been disconnected by corrupt officials to extract bribes from them to get the power switched back on. With no functioning law to fall back on， they knew also that the only way to get a power supply was to take matters into their own hands. Within an hour of their 13)absconding with the key， the electricity was restored.

It is just one victory in a list of successes achieved by the Gulabi Gang since it formed two years ago. Gulabi means pink， and refers to the electric shade of the uniform worn by the 500-plus members， who 14)hail from Banda’s 15)arid villages.

The women have become folk heroes， winning public support for a series of Robin Hood-style operations. Their most daring exploit was to hijack trucks laden with food meant for the poor that was being taken to be sold for profit at the market by corrupt officials.

The targets of the Gulabi Gang’s 16)vigilantism are corrupt officials and violent husbands. The gang has stopped child marriages， forced police officers to register cases of domestic violence—by slapping them—and got roads built by dragging the official responsible from his desk on to the dust track in question.

The gang is led， and was created by 46-year-old Sampat Devi Pal. When I meet her， she is demonstrating self-defence moves with a stick. “We always carry them but only for protection，” she explains， twisting the weapon high over her head and 17)thwacking it hard against her opponent’s.

The daughter of a shepherd， Pal was put to work on the family’s land while her brothers

went to school. Married at 12 to a 20-year-old man from a neighbouring village whom she had never met， she was pregnant by 15. She wanted to be 18)sterilized after having two daughters but her mother-in-law wouldn’t allow it until she had produced a son. Another four children followed. As is common among Hindu families in rural north India， her

in-laws wanted Pal to veil her face and remain silent in the presence of male family

members， as a sign of respect for authority. “I never did either，” she giggles 19)throatily.

It took Pal over a decade to 20)muster the foot soldiers for the gang she now calls her “army”. Travelling from village to village， she 21)amassed hundreds of female fans by belting out her 22)repertoire of protest songs. “I wanted to lift them out of the black hole they’d been pushed into，” Pal says， like a true 23)orator. Only 20% of women in Bundelkhand’s villages can write their name and most are child brides. “I realised that without education， women are steeped in superstitious beliefs.” Eventually， hundreds of women were turning out to hear Pal. They also brought their problems: land grabbing by powerful 24)thugs that left whole families homeless; their violent husbands’ alcoholism and drug abuse; how officials demanded bribes even for payment of a widow’s pension.

“I realised that if I could have this kind of control over women then I could get them out of the clutches of their husbands，” Pal says， narrowing her eyes. There is not the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

Pal is difficult company. Those not showing her the utmost respect get crude abuse. Yet in a place where expectation of female restraint is so faithfully observed， only someone as 25)irascible as Pal could defy it. I meet her husband in the couple’s home， which is built in a 26)ditch with plastic sheeting for a roof. He is mute and utterly obedient to her every order. Later， an astonishing role reversal takes place as half a dozen loyal and obedient male 27)hangers-on are sent running at the snap of her fingers to fetch us tea and 28)guavas.

To them， Pal is someone who can defend the weak， which， in the badlands of Bundelkhand， is rare indeed. Although 80% of the gang’s actions are on behalf of women， they are increasingly called upon by men. When 7，000 Banda farmers decided to take to the streets to demand compensation for failed crops earlier this month， they asked the Gulabi Gang to be there.

The gang’s challenge to the 29)throttling grip of male authority has brought new confidence—and dangers—to its members. I meet Radha， 40， the leader of the 30)ambush on the electricity office， walking with a friend in the market. “Before I joined the gang I was in

31)purdah and never went out of the house，” she says. “Now I’ve tackled ministers and officials and I’ve done away with my shyness—and the veil.” Others have been less fortunate. A few days before I arrive in Banda， one of the gang’s youngest members， a 14-year-old girl， had been attacked with a 32)sickle as she went for her morning 33)ablutions in the fields. She had put up a fight when a 16-year-old neighbour tried to rape her.

Meanwhile， Pal herself is in danger of being criminalised. Following a complaint by the police， she is waiting to hear if she will be formally charged with 11 offences， including unlawful assembly， rioting， attacking a government employee and obstructing an officer in the discharge of duty. “To face down men in this part of the world， you have to use force，” Pal says. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I have faith that justice will prevail.”

在夏日炎炎的烈日下，400來個女人怒氣沖沖地涌進了印度北部班達地區破舊的電力局辦公室里。她們全都穿著亮粉紅色的紗麗。在過去的兩個多星期里，她們家里一直停電，黃昏時便陷入一片漆黑，凌晨醒來時則滿身大汗。但是，她們一直收到索取電費的帳單，為沒能用到的電付錢。

在這個地球上，很少有地方的生命比印度的本德爾坎德區更短暫、更殘酷了。這個荒涼的地方位于北方邦南端，班達地區就屬于這個區域。當地人主要靠農業維持生活；男人的日平均工資僅為60便士，而女人的工資還要減半。債務奴隸和童工在當地非常普遍。腐敗早已成為慣常的現象。在印度，這片地方由于人們仍然因饑餓死亡而聞名。

但是真正讓本德爾坎德區臭名昭著的是猖狂的匪盜。由封建主義和種姓制度遺留下的宿怨依然要靠子彈來解決。正是在這里誕生了印度著名的強盜女王璞蘭#8226;戴薇，她曾帶領匪幫洗劫當地富人和高級種姓的人作為對他們的懲罰。作為這種殘酷環境的產物，這些數以百計的穿粉紅紗麗的女人們很清楚，腐敗的官員故意切斷了她們的電力供應，希望以此向她們訛詐賄賂，來換取電力的恢復。她們還知道，由于沒有法律可以求助，恢復供電的唯一辦法是依靠自己的力量去解決。……