On March 9^th, in honour of International Women's Day, Cinema Politica Charlottetown and Cooper Institute hosted a screening of the documentary, Gulabi Gang. This impeccably shot film follows a group of fearless women who fight gender violence in India with great ferocity and hope. In the bad lands of Bundelkhand in central India, the pink sari-clad women of the Gulabi Gang travel long distances by cart and tractor, bus and train, to wrest justice for women and Dalits, undeterred by sneering policemen and condescending bureaucrats. Sampat Pal, their leader, is a rough-and-tough woman with a commanding personality who has evolved her own brand of feminism and egalitarian politics. Her strength lies in her words. She is constantly on the move – today investigating a young woman’s suspicious death, tomorrow protesting against a corrupt official. The gang encounters resistance everywhere – whole villages connive in protecting the perpetrators of violence. As the film pulls us into the centre of these blazing conflicts, it uncovers a complex story, disturbing yet heartening. The word Gulabi means pink. When a woman joins the group she is given a pink sari so they all wear pink. 

On April 16th, Call to Action is sponsoring a cocktail reception and Forum to honor STEPS (Steps to end family violence) and its founder Sr. Mary Nerney, CND. It will be held at Church of the Holy Apostles at 9th Avenue and 28th Street at 6 p.m.

I had the privilege/pleasure of having Sean Casey, Liberal MP from my Charlottetown riding sit with me at the IWD Coffee House, Sunday and as he said on his Facebook Post, “We go back 30 years.” Chatting with him and remembering X and MSB and my job, as he put it, “to keep the males from going beyond the main entrance” made me very nostalgic. His wife Kathleen lived at the Mount so I knew her well and often encountered him in the Marguerite Lounge and on campus. Our memories were all good and I was touched that he asked someone to take our picture so he could send it to his X friends who knew me. The event also provided me with the opportunity to connect with friends from the women’s community whom I rarely see. Another event involved the viewing of a documentary called The Gulabi Gang which traces the journey of a women’s vigilante group in India to “fight gender violence and wrest justice for women.” All in all, it was a celebration that I will remember.