We Will Not Apologize

Eight months ago, on one of my first visits to the village of Peepli Khera, India, I saw a scene that captivated me, the way a character in a novel can sometimes captivate me.

I was writing an article about a village that had bitterly split over the question of whether women should be allowed to work in factories. Seven women who refused to resign from factory jobs had been made outcasts. I had been sitting with their neighbors, who were passing on terrible rumors about the women. I was taking notes.

As this was happening, one of the outcast women, Geeta, strode into the middle of the circle with her chin up, fiercely. She raked over the neighbors with her eyes, then turned to me and said, loud enough for the whole village to hear, “We will not apologize.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/insider/we-will-not-apologize-encountering-the-defiant-women-of-india.html