KARACHI, March 2 A festival of theatre and dance is being organised by the Tehrik-i-Niswan at the Arts Council Karachi from March 7 to 29 to mark 30 years of its “conscientious creative efforts”.

Sheema Kirmani, the founder member of the organisation, told a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday evening that the Tehrik-i-Niswan would present a retrospective of some of the outstanding plays and performances that it had done over the years.

Accompanied by director/writer Anwar Jaffery and actress Shama Askari (later joined by two other performers Mahvash Farooqi and Asma Mundrawala) Sheema apprised journalists of the plays to be staged during the festival.

It was in the late 1970s that Tehrik-i-Niswan came into being. Its focus was, and still is, on raising issues related to the unjust attitude with which women in our society are treated through meaningful cultural activities, mainly theatre and dance. To achieve its objective, the organisation has been successfully putting up hard-hitting and politically aware stage plays and dance performances.

According to Sheema, Tehrik-i-Niswan has always been cognizant of the fact that the quality of the entertainment that the group is trying to come up with must commensurate with its world view and the social responsibility that it feels towards the people.

She emphasised the need for a dialogue on sensitive issues by virtue of artistic pursuits, making people conscious of important social issues. The tehrik`s street theatre over the years is part of that endeavour, she said, and added that for three years the group performed in the Orangi Town area in Karachi, but insufficient media coverage didn`t highlight its effort the way it deserved.

Answering a question, Sheema said that in other parts of the world, culture is used as an alternative method of education, and the arts are employed as a tool for identifying social problems. However, such things are not encouraged in our country.

Sheema said no Pakistani government has ever supported Tehrik-i-Niswan and stressed that democratic dispensations should be supportive of art and the artist community. She said Naib City Nazim Nasreen Jalil had assured the tehrik of her support for the festival.

Giving out details of the event, Sheema said a play titled Anji will be staged on March 7, followed by Raqs Karo (a dance performance based on a Fehmida Riaz`s poem) on March 8.

On March 10 and 11, the audiences will get to see Birjees Qadr Ka Kunba (adapted from one of Lorca`s plays House of Bernarda Alba) followed by Jinney Lahore Nahin Vekhya on March 12 (in which poet Nasir Kazmi is the principal character) and Ismat Ki Dau Kahanian on March 13.

Uss Bewafa Ke Shehr Mein (based on Somerset Maugham`s story The Constant Wife) will be staged on March 14 and 15.

Then on World Theatre Day (March 27, 28 & 29) Aik Hazar Aur Aik Theen Raatein will be performed.

She announced that after the World Dance Day (April 29 on which she will perform The Song of Mohenjodaro at the same venue) Tehrik-i-Niswan would have a mobile theatre activity for which a date was yet to be decided.