As Delhi gets ready to witness the desi chapter of Slutwalk Arthaart Besharmi Morcha on July 31, volunteers are spreading the message through hard-hitting street plays. While organizers are facing flak for being elitist, a group of motivated volunteers are staging inventive plays to create awareness.
Mishika Agarwal, media coordinator, of Delhi SlutWalk says: "We have been performing at various villages in and around Delhi - Bhalaswar, Rali, Seemapuri - places we had never heard of before. We're doing this because we want Slutwalk to be more inclusive. It's very easy to 'Like' soemting on Facebook, but we actually get to interact with people and understand the real issues. It feels great."
Wearing black kurtas and white dupattas, the group which calls itself DDC (Drama Drama Club, comprises a bunch of idealistic and motivated youngsters who are proud to be associated with this special movement.
Says Nikhil, a DDC performer: "We all understand the need for a change, we are trying to make other people also feel motivated to bring a change. I'm doing my bit for the society and my parents feel proud of me."
After almost nine performances, the group is feeling pretty kicked up about the response, one of the performers Diksha reveals: "We are overwhelmed by the response and we've got the reaction we were looking for. People are actually coming up to us and sharing their personal stories. Our plays are clicking, people are reacting to our performances."
{{/usCountry}}After almost nine performances, the group is feeling pretty kicked up about the response, one of the performers Diksha reveals: "We are overwhelmed by the response and we've got the reaction we were looking for. People are actually coming up to us and sharing their personal stories. Our plays are clicking, people are reacting to our performances."
{{/usCountry}}Though the response has been positive there have been instances when people have just clearly denied the presence of any harassment issues. Ananya, a performer says: "At some places, people are adamant that 'this' (rapes, eve-teasing) doesn't happen in their mohalla. So through our plays we've brought these supposed non-issues as issues which need to be addressed."
While most people are lauding the effort, the group feels that they would prefer that people give their suggestions and discuss, instead of just agreeing to them.