In 1983, at a theater workshop organized by the NGO Alarippu at Vanvasi Seva Ashram, Mirzapur, a male participant from Rajasthan proudly pointed out that his wife was revered in his village because she had vowed to commit sati after her death. Horrified, the women participants decided to stage a play condemning the glorification of Sati. wait, A play written by him depicts a young girl who, having barely spent seven hours with her husband, is urged by the villagers to attain divinity by immolating herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. But the wife does not want small worship but wants to live. She boldly walks out of her marital home while her in-laws sleep – to a new dawn.
Walking Out, Speaking Up: Feminist Street Theater in IndiaDeepti, written by Priya Mehrotra, narrates a number of plays that are part of a genre of theater meant to raise awareness of women’s issues. But the book doesn’t tell you whether Intezaar It was staged in Rajasthan where Sati was practiced and celebrated. However, it states Intezaar It was brought out of hibernation four years later, when women’s groups launched a nationwide campaign against the self-immolation of Roop Kanwar in Deorala in 1987.
As Mehrotra points out in the beginning of her book, feminist street theater came into existence in association with the autonomous women’s movement. It was part of a larger movement that sought to correct unequal gender equations and end atrocities against women, its most vibrant phase being from the late 1970s to the 1980s.
Across the country, women’s groups, students and institutions held workshops on feminist street theatre, staging plays with provocative songs, improvised dances and recognizable storylines. Often, actors were victims of domestic abuse, or gender inequality. Encouraged by groups like Sahiyar Stree Sangathan, Stree Mukti Sangathan, Sabala Sangh to overcome their hesitations, share their tragic experiences and express their desires, the victims found a cathartic release in portraying scenes from their lives. The plots of the plays were woven into real-life events and the endings were left open for the audience to decide. So, this exercise was cathartic – for the artists and the audience.
A gathering at a street play in Delhi in the 1980s. Photo Credit: Courtesy: Walking Out, Speaking Up
Actresses like Shanti emerged from street plays. Shanti grew up earning a living in the stone mines of Rajasthan. After becoming a member of Sabala Sangh, she learned to read and write, make plays and write. His talent in folk singing and dancing enhanced his powerful performances and helped him write entertaining, meaningful plays. he wrote plays like will you buy my sorrows For national level women’s conferences and honeymoon misfortune In which they used three dolls to depict an unmarried woman, a married woman, and a widow and asked participants to describe the dolls as they saw them. His audience often brought tears to his cheeks as he shared his personal stories. Shanti separated the audience from the crowd settlements From Delhi to the World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
When Shahjahan’s daughter died due to domestic violence in 1978, Shahjahan joined Shakti Shalini, a shelter home to support women in distress. After this she founded Nav Srishti to educate her girls. settlement, So that they can become self-reliant and not have to suffer the same fate as their daughter. Within a decade, Nav Srishti was teaching hundreds of girls and some boys too, in seven working-class areas of Delhi. Then, in 1998, Shahjahan turned to street theater to educate the community at large on gender and social issues. With the help of NGO – Mehak and Alarippu – Shahjahan’s girls performed in plays like why am i illiterate This had a visible impact at the ground level, empowering participants and changing the attitudes of slum dwellers.
In fact, Shah Jahan dealt with women’s issues in a holistic manner. ,feminism, feminist thinking important to me. There is no limit to this work. If we reach one post, there is another post ahead,” he told a documentary by Vishnu Mathur.
hang out, speak It revisits the heady era of feminist street theater when efforts to liberate women from patriarchal norms in various fields were at their peak, and stories like Shahjahan and Shanti are inspiring. Mehrotra’s description of the enthusiasm and dedication of groups across the country who created intense, feminist theater four decades ago leaves you nostalgic.
However, the book is repetitive and loose in parts as it reads like a thesis.
Also, it is not understandable why Mehrotra kept the feminist theme of the important street theater group Jana Natya Manch (Janam) out of her scope. Although he has mentioned some of Janam’s plays like women, On the struggles of working class women and this is also violence Which focuses on violence against women in Hindu mythology, it does not explore their history like plays by other groups. Mehrotra’s reason for excluding Janam is that it does not identify itself as a feminist group and is not female-oriented. An unconvincing argument because if the above street plays encouraged women go out Or To declare, Then there should have been a discussion on the development and impact of these plays.
published – December 30, 2025 01:11 PM IST