What Women Want

Veena Sikri,a professor at Jamia Milia,adds that “though the festival does not exclude men and is more issue-specific than gender-specific,the plays do show women making statements of protest”. Sadakainaya Jataka is a mythical tale about a woman who refuses to marry a king who has killed her husband and now offers her the chance to become a queen. “Ultimately,she succeeds in bringing her husband back to life,” adds Sikri. “Similarly,the existence of an all-woman theatre group from Afghanistan is by itself an act of defiance because women aren’t allowed to act in plays in the country.” Salsal and Shahmaama,directed by Monireh Hashmi from Herat in Afghanistan,also makes a political statement by questioning the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

The festival opens with NSD Chairperson Amal Allana’s Nati Binodini,about a sex worker called Binodini who was among the first women actors on stage. She defies a class- and caste-ridden society by donning the roles of royalty and even plays a goddess. Apart from Allana,the Indian representation at the festival includes Nadira Zaheer Babbar’s Sakubai,Neelam Man Singh Chowdhury’s Nagamandala and H Kanhailal’s Draupadi. Bangalore-based director Poile Sengupta’s Thus Spake Shoorpanakha,So Said Shakuni revisits the stories of the two reviled characters in Indian mythology. But no play deliberately aims to start a peace process in South Asia more than the Pakistani Jang Ab Nahin Hogi,a hilarious version of Aristophanes’ Greek classic Lysistrata. “In this adaptation,two tribes that have gained independence by fighting against colonial rule,now find themselves at loggerheads. Fed up with the constant war and violence perpetrated by men,the women of both tribes finally decide to take action and assume control. They declare,Jang Ab Nahin Hogi,” says Kapur. Wishful thinking. Maybe,that’s what women want.

The festival will be held at various Mandi House theatres till March 15. Contact: 23378641/23073647