We’re blind to violence against women: Delhi troupe’s play for Aussies

The Delhi-based Asmita Theatre Group has often performed nukkad nataks on violence against women, but the venue of this staging was a little unusual – the Australian high commission in Delhi. The high commission had organized the performance to sensitize its staff and create awareness about the issue. The staging was part of the 16 days of activism, from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day), in which organizations across the world work towards ending violence against women.
Chris Elstoft, Australia’s acting high commissioner (BCCL)
Found the play unsettling: Aussie high commissioner
Actress Shilpi Marwaha, along with her group, presented the play, called Voice Against Atrocities On Women, which depicted various instances of women being subjected to violence – being harassed on the road, stalkers unable to accept the refusal of a woman and throwing acid on her face to ‘take revenge’, people killing the girl child in the womb. Many, including Australia’s acting high commissioner Chris Elstoft, found it unsettling. “I found it very confronting (sic), it was very hard to watch. It was moving and unsettling and it really made me think. When we read news reports, we often get desensitized by the bare statistics of these incidents, but a theatre performance like this can remind us that these are people like us who are in pain,” he said.
Sandra O’Malley, head, media and public diplomacy at the high commission, added, “It was extremely moving, and it showed how we become blind to what is happening in others’ lives. It is really important that we take action against atrocities on women and take ourselves out of our safe zones to help other people.” Aditi Manohar, research officer, political department, also applauded the play, saying that it was a very powerful performance. “It was a very emotional experience – we know about these issues and these issues are right in front of us, so we should not ignore them,” she said.
The play explored various kinds of violence against women, from female foeticide to sexual harassment, often dismissed as ‘eve-teasing’ (BCCL)
Many of the foreigners wore masks in the polluted Delhi air (BCCL)
Nukkad natak narrated in English
The group, which usually performs this play in Hindi, tweaked it to make it comprehensible for the staff of the high commission. The group made greater use of actions too, and after each scene, Shilpi narrated the whole scene in English for the staff there. “I had performed this play in LA some years ago and I had to translate the play for the audience there as well. This was the second time we did some parts of the play in English,” said Shilpi.