Tackling taboos with theatre

With Students’ Week in full swing at the University of Karachi, the students are usually seen heading to various places in the varsity just to hang out. In such casual times, it was an unfamiliar sight for many to see a One Act theatre.

Keeping up with its campaign against sexual harassment on campus, the National Students’ Federation (NSF), Karachi decided to use the week to raise awareness about the pressing issue as students performed a theatre act.

The short play comprised of eight students and started off with a young woman who shows her anger and disgust toward the harassment only to get counter arguments by her friends who resort to shaming and blaming of victim.

However, another student steps in and clearly explains sexual harassment to the young men and women which is normalised in our society. As the lead character urges people to speak against harassment, another young man falls to his knees as he shares how he too has been harassed and due to patriarchal notions, neither women nor men feel comfortable in opening up.  

“The reason I decided to be in the play was because I could relate to the character to an extent that I didn’t need to act. Only last week in university, I saw a similar instance which frustrated me and there wasn’t any reason why I shouldn’t have participated in an initiative which would shed light on this issue,” said Saba, a sociology student.

Speaking about the response, she said that many people came up to her and lauded the effort. Given that theatre is usually confined to auditorium walls, it was refreshing to see students perform it in an open area and the teachers and students alike requested another edition later in the day for the Evening group.

Another participant, Waqas, felt that the topic was usually perceived as sensitive and people find it difficult to be discussed; hence he decided to support the initiative: “I want to make people realise that sexual harassment is not a myth and the reason many of us choose to ignore it is because we opt for silence over raising a furore. Our theatre wasn’t very long yet it was comprehensive enough to explain harassment and its consequence along with the fact that it is not limited to genders. “

He added that such initiatives would pave way for a dialogue because the university seldom gave oppurtunities to highlight such issues because certain organisations didn’t approve so.

Laila Raza, NSF's unit secretary at KU, who wrote and directed the play, shared that this topic was usually hushed up in our society hence we needed to provide a non-threatening environment to students so that they won’t think twice before mentioning an incident — and the very purpose of the theatre was let them know that they can’t avert their gaze every time they saw a person getting harassed. The group would also perform in other departments in the next two days.