Theatre of the Oppressed in Pakistan

by Alia Tariq Nawaz, the Friday Times, Lahore

Recently, Lahoris were treated to alternative entertainment, a "Theatre of the Oppressed Festival". The force behind the organisation of this festival was the Interactive Resource Centre (IRC),which employs interactive theatre techniques for mobilisation and community empowerment. The festival was dedicated to the memory of Omar Asghar Khan, a true supporter of the IRC.

The first Festival of the Theatre of the Oppressed attracted theatre practitioners, media persons, lawyers, NGOs and members of the public in an extraordinary conflux of languages, theatre styles, and social issues. Ten theatre activist groups, from remotest Balochistan and Sindh and urban centres like Lahore and Multan, performed at the festival. The performing theatre groups, all trained by IRC, included DAST theatre group; Turbat, Balochistan; Sandal theatre group, Faisalabad; Village Shadabad theater group, Juhi, Sindh; Lok Punchayat theatre group, Bahawalnagar, Punjab; CDC-Sialkot, Women's Development Organisation (WDO), Mardan, NWFP; Multan theatre group, Multan; SAFWCO (Sindh Agriculture & Forestry Workers Cooperative Organisation) theatre group, Shadadpur, Sindh; Young Samaji Tanzeem, Juhi, Sindh; and KOOK theatre group, Haripur, NWFP.

Just as the principal goal of education is to change power relations in society and to create mechanisms of collective power over social structures, the principal goal of this festival was to aid groups in exploring and transforming the power relations of dominance and subjugation that instigate oppression. The festival meant not only to strengthen theatre groups by forming a network, but also to make city dwellers aware of how these groups are struggling to bring changes in their respective communities. Plays on issues pertaining to female education, denial of basic rights to women, female empowerment, sexual harassment, politics and minority rights were all presented. As the theatre was interactive in form, the audience enthusiastically played the part of spectators to the various protagonists. The plays were presented in different languages such as Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki, Hindko, and Punjabi, making the festival all embracing.

Brazilian dramatist and activist Augusto Boal was the originator of the theatrical technique employed at the festival. The Theatre of the Oppressed is participatory theatre designed for people who yearn to fight against oppression in their daily lives. Bridging the gap between actor and spectator (the one who observes but who is not permitted to intervene in the theatrical situation), Theatre of the Oppressed is practiced by "spect-actors" who have the opportunity to both act and observe, and who engage in self-empowering processes of dialogue that helps to foster critical thinking. The theatrical act is thus experienced as conscious intervention, as a preparation for social action rooted in a collective analysis of shared problems of oppression.

The highlight of the first day was the interaction on the issue of the denial of basic human rights to minorities. Interestingly, the first spect-actor was a child who, while playing the role of the mother, suggested raising a collective voice against all discrimination. Similar solutions were put forward by both male and female spect-actors. Another female spect-actor suggested that just as 20 marks of Qirat were awarded to Muslim students in state sponsored matriculation exams, so should non-Muslim and minority students be granted 20 marks.

The second day video presentation on sexual harassment held the audience spellbound. The debate generated by the theatre performance on rape was ironic. The audience agreed when asked whether a rape victim should file a report with the police, that sexual crimes must be exposed so as to eliminate evil at its root. Many also expressed their reservation that a rape victim is never socially rehabilitated and thus has to endure mental traumas for years after. Fauzia Saeed, the country manager of ActionAid, revealed that as long as the Hudood Ordinance is in effect, rape victims should not report the incident. A lawyer present explained to the audience what the Hudood Ordinance is. Rifat of DASTAK, a shelter for women, also confirmed the view taken by Fauzia Saeed. She also disclosed that they could not help many women because of the existence of this ordinance. Ms Gulnar of DASTAK also commented on how the Hudood Ordinance is used against rape victims and how rape victims are charged with adultery as a direct result of the ordinance.

During the last day of the festival, the audience was invited to interact in a play pertaining to the issue of the denial of basic rights to female factory workers. This was mostly acted in the role of the female factory worker who has been elected as a labour councillor and who has decided to resign from her union council seat as she was humiliated and mistreated during the first session of the union council. A woman in the audience suggested that there are certain laws for support, and she should raise the issue at trade union meetings. But the question was then raised as to what she would do in the absence of a trade union. Another woman acted as the oppressor and suggested that, as everybody respected the woman's in-laws, therefore she should ask them to change the naib nazim of the union council. The interaction was concluded with the suggestion by a male spect-actor, who played the role of naib nazim and said that as the female labour councillor had been elected, she had equal rights to any other councillor, and that if other councillors had any objections, they could resign.

The theatre festival was a blend of various forms of art, and this endowed it with a unique efficacy. This sort of interactive theatre moved all those present. The involvement of the audience proved that theatre art is not merely a commodity but also a medium towards creativity and imagination and a path to the inner self. Through this festival, the IRC showed in practice how theatre can be placed at the service of the oppressed so that they can express themselves and discover new avenues towards freedom.

© The Friday Times

Under Pressure 11 - August 2002