Special Events
THE COURT OF WOMEN
The round table discussion held on January 30th, 2009
On January 30th, a round table discussion was kept where in issues of dowry and its exploitative forms were discussed. It was participated by social activists, ICDS supervisors, researchers, students, NGO representatives etc. Other eminent personalities like Lyda Jacob (Former Director, Social Welfare Board), P.E. Usha (AHADS, Attapady), Praveena Kodoth (CDS, Trivandrum), Rejitha (Sakhi, Trivandrum), K. Ajitha (Anweshi), Celine, Donna Fernandez, Sathya, Bhadra (Vimochana, Bangalore), Nalini Nayek (SEWA), Padmakumari (Mahila Samakhya), Jothi Narayan (Sthree Vedi) and Adv. Sandhya (HRLN). 130 people participated in this discussion. It was a clear fact that the root of all female problems was somewhere associated with dowry. Moreover growing female foeticide in many parts of the country is a crucial fact of gender insensitivity. Ms Donna Fernandez shared that the court of women is distinct than the usual court proceedings as it is a platform where in women can share their experiences emotionally without any one to control them. She added that the attitudes of young boys and girls towards dowry should be changed. V. P. Suhara of NISA spoke that dowry is often supported by religious priests as a share goes to the mosque when a marriage happens. Lyda Jacob, the former director of Social Welfare Board, shared that women should not only have property rights but also the right to make decisions with respect to these properties. Ms. Rejitha of Sakhi and Ms. Praveena of CDS presented papers on dowry. However everyone agreed to the fact that the time was inadequate to discuss and share concerns and complexities regarding dowry. It was concluded that the court of women is a continuous process and is a platform where in two generations participate. The court of women demonstrated a new hope with the new generation reflecting a strong foundation of social awareness and the old generation giving firm support. Even though the new generation is not a part of any movement, there was a mutual sharing of their views and ideologies indicating responsible social consciousness and responsiveness.
31st January
The second day of the “Court of Women” started with a tribal dance from the “Irula” community of Attapady. The session was inaugurated by well known writer and activist Ms Sara Joseph and presided by K. Ajitha, Anweshi President. The welcome speech was given by Mrs. Jancy Jose. The programme started with participants who were victims of dowry giving their testimonies followed by the deposition by the expert witness. Finally the judges gave their verdicts on the testimonies. The event was also participated by the immediate relatives of those who died because of dowry, those who were still suffering from the evil of dowry, those who had to spent their major portion of their lives in gulf countries and suffered health problems, those who are in gulf countries and are toiling hard had shared their experiences. The expert witness presented with their views giving social background and dimensions to the testimonies. The jury consisted of eminent personalities like Dr. Sharada Mani, Ms. Nalini Nayek, C R Neelakanthan, M N Karassery, P. Geetha, T. G. Ajitha and Adv. Bhadrakumari. The programme concluded with the speech thanking all the participants.
FEMINIST THEATRE GROUP
Anweshi, an activist group, recently entered into the foray of theatre as a medium of social change and organized a feminist theatre group in collaboration with a Trivandrum based group called “Nireeksha”. It was staged as the first play under the Surasu Film Festival at the local town hall.
BACKGROUND
“Sita” the play was written by the famous yesteryear actress, poetess and activist Ms. Snehalatha Reddy. She died at an early age due to the bitter experiences she had gone through when she was jailed during the internal emergency in the seventies. In her version of the play Sita is questioning Rama for his love less ness and power hungry attitude. He is also willing to sacrifice her to the ultimate test of jumping in to the pyre. Sita is questioning Rama and she is comparing Rama to Ravana and admires Ravana for the care and respect towards Sita. In our version of Sita is rejecting both Ravana and Rama goes to her own fate and to her mother. Our aim has been to bring to light the increase in communal politics against women like the recent attacks by the Sree Rama Sena in Mangalore. Both Sita and Rama have been shown in an unconventional manner to deconstruct the stereotype image.