Kathmandu:

We see violence against women in almost every aspect of our lives. From the moment they are born till their death, most women silently have to bear the brunt of patriarchal desires. They are not allowed to have their own identity, but have to don the role given to them by society’s patriarchs.

With an intention to spread awareness on the need to root out this gender discrimination in society, Creative Statements in association with South Asian Partnership Nepal organised a dance performance with poetry and music entitled Dhara Gatha at Gurukul on December 9. The programme was to mark the 16-day ‘Activism against Gender Violence’ that ends on December 10.

The performance, choreographed by Subima Shrestha, effectively highlighted a girl child who is unwelcome at birth, marginalised right from childhood, expected to be submissive and self-effacing by society, but then displaying her fiery female energy to show and declare herself independent and capable.

The lights and background music very effectively accentuated the overall effect of the performance. Hom Nath Upadhyay composed the music and led the ensemble. The poem beautifully narrating the inner feelings of a woman was, surprisingly, penned by a man, noted poet Viplob Pratik.

Actor Mithila Sharma’s solo performance followed in a similar way, where she enacted a woman who seeks to battle against the all-pervasive gender discrimination in society for the sake of the future generation. But the road ahead to regain her identity is obscure. She decides to join politics to effect a wide change at the decision-making level itself. However, she encounters male politicians who while welcoming on the surface cunningly try to prove her incapability by giving her almost impossible tasks. She asks the male politicians to be true to their words, but first to treat women as humans, not as any other second rate being. She is after all a human, first and foremost.

Young political leaders — Gagan Thapa from Nepali Congress and Ram Kumari Jhankre from CPN-UML — and Maoist leader Ananta expressed their views and their solidarity for the cause of womenfolk.