Nukkad naatak (street theatre) is not only helping a group of tribal women raise awareness about gender discrimination and the digital divide in Banka, Bihar -- but it’s helping bring about real change too.
“Are women not equal to men?” thunders Muniya to the audience.
Muniya belongs to a group of six tribal women who are raising difficult and, at times, uncomfortable questions for people in remote villages of Bihar. They are powerful, they are confident and they are undaunted by large crowds.
They are part of a Theatre of the Oppressed nukkad and natak (street theatre) group. In this type of street theatre, which takes place in brief acts, if one of the characters is experiencing oppression in any way, the players or even the audience members can halt the performance.
As Muniya looks intently at the audience, even the men nod. One woman from the audience bravely walks up to the stage to narrate her own story of injustice related to the skit’s theme.
In another skit the story drifts toward the lack of access to phones for girls in the community.
“Is this right?” asks Madhu solemnly.
A village elder walks to the stage in front of an attentive, curious audience of more than 100,
“Girls in other parts of India are becoming doctors and pilots. If we do not educate our daughters and do not give them access to technology that will expose them to the outside world, they will be left behind. No one should discriminate against girls in our village,” says the elder from the stage who was moved immensely by the skit.
The audience breaks into a spontaneous applause with the adolescent girls clapping the most.
Fighting the initial resistance from their families against performing in public, skit after skit, these unafraid women are breaking down barriers and discrimination by performing in village squares, markets, schools and even offices.
I gained a lot of confidence performing in the skits. I told my husband that I will not tolerate abuse.
From being a victim of domestic abuse to asserting her right as an equal inside the household, Madhu has come a long way.
“I gained a lot of confidence performing in the skits. I told my husband that I will not tolerate abuse. Once I started raising my voice, things fell into place. In fact, he supports me now,” says Madhu.
The women’s group has raised awareness in more than 120 remote villages of the Banka district in Bihar with the support of PRADAN and Reliance Foundation. This endeavour is part of their ‘Women’s Connect’ program which aims to improve women’s digital literacy across India’s villages.
The women’s group’s story of courage and immense will power has even been featured in the Dainik Jagaran newspaper.
In one village, after a skit on domestic violence, women got together to counsel a husband. The wife had been subjected to domestic abuse for years.
The skit started a conversation which built the ground for action. Post the intervention, the abuse stopped.
I can speak more confidently. People recognize me even in the marketplace. I have my own identity now
Beyond the social changes triggered in the communities, the greatest change has been within the performing tribal women and their households.
“I can speak more confidently. People recognize me even in the marketplace. I have my own identity now,” asserts Sushma.
Inarma, another performer, has seen immense changes in her own value system. The biggest one according to her is how she now sees her daughter as equal to her two sons.
As the group dresses for another skit in another village, Muniya slings the Mandar around her neck, an instrument that is forbidden for females to play. The valiant women are once again ready to shake the foundations of patriarchy and create a just world.
The lead image at the top shows the women’s group performs in front of a village audience.
Chandan Sharma is an independent consultant.
Rajesh Parida is an executive at PRADAN.
