Photos: Women-only comedy show tackles bras and bias in India

Men are strictly banned at Femapalooza, a women-only comedy show, where the punch lines range from breasts and bras to equal pay and censorship. It has organised more than 35 shows in different cities over the past three years, providing a safe and friendly environment for women comics. Activists have campaigned for years for greater access to public and performing spaces for women in India. In recent years similar to Femapalooza, “Leddis Night” by online magazine Ladies Finger and “Disgust Me” by stand-up comedian Sumukhi Suresh have been widely acclaimed.

Updated on: Sep 01, 2018 11:44 AM IST

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A woman applauds prior to a Femapalooza show in New Delhi. At this women-only comedy show, where punch lines range from breasts and bras to equal pay and censorship, men are strictly banned. They aren’t allowed to attend, perform, or even check tickets at this most recent show. Here, 13 comedians, aged between 17 and 37, tried out their jokes on an audience of around 30 women in an intimate setting. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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For founder Jeeya Sethi, humour just for women is a way to make progress in patriarchal India, where rape and gender bias are hot-button issues and women are widely expected to adhere to conservative stereotypes. “Men only talk about men, Modi and masturbation, or they make sexist jokes,” said Sethi, a stand-up comic herself. She added that stand-up is all about being unabashed and when there are women around you can say anything without being judged. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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Femapalooza has organised more than 35 shows in different cities over the past three years, providing what Sethi calls a safe and friendly environment for women comics. Rights activists have campaigned for years for greater access to public and performing spaces for women in India. Some have emerged in recent years with women-only shows such as “Leddis Night” by online magazine Ladies Finger and “Disgust Me” by stand-up comedian Sumukhi Suresh. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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First-time performer Naomi Barton said she is more comfortable sharing her jokes with a women-only crowd, with no pressure to please men. “When I talk about PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and how it affects my mental health, landing me in funny situations, a woman will get it,” said Barton, a digital publisher with a major firm. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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The surprise act of the evening was by Aditi Mittal, one of the handfuls of women to have made an impression in India’s male-dominated comedy scene. “Many men think women are doing stand-up comedy because they are so desperate for attention ... Some even say ‘don’t you get enough attention from your boobs’,” quipped Mittal, the first Indian woman to get her own special on Netflix. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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The crowd at the show revelled in every woman-friendly gag. Comedy in India can be a boys’ club, acknowledged Rohan Joshi, a member of the popular All India Bakchod sketch group. “We live in a culture where for years women’s opinion has never been valued. This is at the heart of comedy,” said Joshi. (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)

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Platforms such as Femapalooza have helped bring more women onto the comedy circuit. But male comics have complained about women-only events, calling them sexist. In response, Comedy Ladder organised an event where both men and women performed and introduced men as male comics on stage and women simply as comics, to show “how weird it sounds.” (Noemi Cassanelli / AFP)