In a narrow lane in a district of Punjab, a woman calls out for people to come and watch, banging on a tambourine. Within minutes, a curious crowd collects and makes themselves comfortable on the dusty ground in front of her.
The project - EU-PA2J - has been instrumental in developing messages to increase public knowledge about legal rights and the availability of legal and judicial services.
Centre Stage
As part of their mandate to increase access to justice for the poor and vulnerable in Punjab, EU-PA2J is orchestrating street theatre with a strong message.
In a narrow lane in a district of Punjab, a woman calls out for people to come and watch, banging on a tambourine. Within minutes, a curious crowd collects and makes themselves comfortable on the dusty ground in front of her. The performers announce to the circle of people around them that they’re there for a play that will address a topic usually ignored and will help all onlookers. In this manner, street theatre has been taking place from the 9th till 27th of December in three major districts of Punjab – Multan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur.
Street theatre is an art form with its roots in 1970s leftwing activism. It has now evolved into a direct marketing tool to take both civic and corporate messages to poor audiences and is thriving in the streets and alleys. The European Union Punjab Access to Justice Project (EU-PA2J) has initiated this series of live street theatre in an effort to promote greater understanding on Women Inheritance Rights. It is widely acknowledged that women are denied their inheritance rights, or willingly relinquish it.
The play has been brought to life by Azad Theatre who took the script and weaved impromptu song and dialogue into the play to ensure no two performances are ever the same. Titled, ‘Daffa 498-A’ or ‘Article 498-A’ the play addresses a specific topic from the Pakistani Penal Code (PPC) which deals with denying a woman of her inheritance rights.
“While doing the play the performers realized that people wanted to know where to go get these rights and so they improvised and added that information in the play,” shared Umme Habiba, Communications Manager at EU-PA2J. Through this classic theatre format, the organizers are engaging with people to create awareness whilst providing information about redressal avenues.
The project has been instrumental in developing messages to increase public knowledge about legal rights and the availability of legal and judicial services. “We wanted to spread the information on a grassroots level initially so we planned to go into the districts. The response has been excellent because the villagers said nothing like this has ever happened before. We realized that women also wanted to see the plays but they couldn’t step out. However, there were a lot of women who were watching from their windows and doors,” Wassam Waheed, Senior Expert – Communications at EU-PA2J explained. The team then organized some plays in areas where it was easier for women to step out and watch.
“In fact, people didn’t know that this law already existed in Pakistan and were happy that it was being introduced.”
Habiba shared that there were other communication tools but the team wanted to focus on street theatre because it more readily appeals to people as it’s visually driven.
John Lipton, who is the team leader of the project said, “Empowering the needy and vulnerable of Punjab may not be achieved unless people are educated in claiming their fundamental rights. Through initiatives such as circle theatre, members of the ordinary public may engage in meaningful debates as they cast a fresh glance at standing practices and decide whether their interpretation meets the needs of today’s society.”
