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An evening of expression
A one-day seminar-cum-festival of music, dance, theatre and dialogue was organized recently in Karachi by Tehrik-i-Niswan, to project women’s rights.
Starting very close to the time stated on the invitation cards, the festival had quite a few refreshing proceedings lined up. Sheema Kermani gave a spirited introduction to the evening that was to follow. Detailing how her organization had used street theatre in lower income areas to liberate and educate women in many ways, the main gist of the entire show was about how theatre could and should be used to help unshackle women.
The evening kicked off with the organization’s theme song, a sweet yet meaningful ditty that was sung with absolute joy by all the people who were part of the performing team. A good performance right at the start set the tone for the rest of the evening. A video based on Fehmida Riaz’s poem Aseer Shahzadi was screened right after. Sung by Tina Sani and directed by Sheema and Anwer Hussain, the video was excellent. Simple and fluid shots supplemented by disturbing images were complimented by Tina Sani’s heartfelt voice and Riaz’s horrifyingly realistic depiction of reality, leaving more than just a few teary eyed people in the audience.
After a heavy dose, there followed a classical dance performance based on Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s Ajao Africa by two of Sheema’s students, Mani Chao and Amjad Ansari. Both the dancers have been studying classical dance with Sheema for over a decade and are part of most of Tehrik-i-Niswan’s theatrical productions. An invigorating performance was delivered. Agile and beautiful, this performance paved the way for an introduction to the Community Theatre Groups that the organization has trained. It was interesting to see young men and women from far flung areas perceived as culturally bereft such as Lyari, Korangi, Hyderabad and Larkana.
A video based on Fehmida Riaz’s poem ‘Aseer Shahzadi’ was shown in the programme. Simple and fluid shots supplemented by disturbing images were complimented by Tina Sani’s heartfelt voice and Riaz’s horrifying depiction of reality, leaving more than just a few misty-eyed in the audience
The main phase of the seminar, the panel discussion, began shortly after the performance. Thankfully, the discussion remained on track and informative, if not productive and as spirited as could have been. Atiya Dawood, the Sindhi poet, remains as articulate and down-to-earth in her ways as she was at the time that she began writing. Speaking about music and dance, she explained how her recent visit to a young woman, who had been molested twice in succession, brought to light how basic music is to humans. The young woman, in her conscious moments, sings Amir Khusrau’s songs. Atiya also spoke about how, in a remote village of Thar, she asked the women if they sang and danced. Silence on their part prompted her to apologize if the question was offensive, to which the women replied: “Is that even a question to ask!”
Asma Mudrawala, a young woman associated for many years with the rights group, read out from her thesis paper that she had completed on mobile theatre based on her experience of working with this group. Allauddin, a community activist who has worked extensively with the Orangi Welfare project, spoke about the need to educate and inform women of their rights and how Sheema’s presence helped bring women outside their homes, which in itself was a difficult feat. Arif Hasan, an architect and an expert on development in Karachi, talked about how the government culture was responsible for the absence of auditoriums and places where performing arts could be brought to the people. He asked the people related to the arts to submit well-defined proposals to do away with this gaping void.
Theatre practitioner Mansoor Saeed said in an articulate manner that it was a systematic doing away of our culture that had left us directionless. Fehmida Riaz expressed her delight in seeing theatre groups made up of young people from all over the city. In response to the appreciation of her poetry, vintage Riaz was on display as she retorted wryly that she wrote for herself, the world be damned. “Bhaar mae jaye zamana, mae tau dil kee baat likh rahee hoon.”
A previously performed play by Tehrik-i-Niswan, Aurat Akayli Mardon Kay Sheher Main was put on in the last hour. Based on the dilemma of women facing lechers wherever they turn, it was a superbly scripted, sung and acted theatrical production. A fitting end to a fine evening, Tehrik-i-Niswan quite outdid itself.
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