Acting Out Against Domestic Violence

A draft law on domestic abuse was endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010 but is yet to be approved by Parliament.

That really says everything, doesn't it?

Interactive theater helps women explore taboos of domestic violence

April 06, 2011 12:00 AM (Last updated: April 06, 2011 08:43 AM)
By Marie Dhumières
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Ten Palestinian and Lebanese women who took part in a course on interactive theater techniques to address domestic violence were given their diplomas during a graduation ceremony at the UNESCO Palace Tuesday.

The course, sponsored by Italy and implemented by the Forum of Palestinian Women, is part of the two-year project, “Prevention of violence against women in Palestinian refugee camps.” It aims to tackle issues of domestic violence, gender discrimination and sexual abuses through short plays during which members of the audience are invited to participate and share their personal experiences.

Leila al-Ali, executive director of Najdeh Assocation, which works with Palestinian refugees, and a founding member of the Forum of Palestinian Women, described this “new technique” as a way to reach larger audiences than workshops do and to “address taboo issues” in society.

The graduates, who underwent six months of training, have already staged plays in Beirut, Tripoli, Tyre and the Bekaa and are planning to perform for communities across the country.

“Women have a right in society to defend themselves,” said Sheba Morabito – the wife of Italy’s ambassador to Lebanon, Guiseppe Morabito – who handed the women their diplomas.

“Projects like this one make people aware that it’s time to speak out in public [to help] achieve gender equality” in the private sphere, she said, adding that domestic violence is “a problem that is often hidden.”

Before receiving their certificates, the graduates performed a play in front of an audience of 200 which tells the story of a child who is sexually abused by a shop owner and is scared to tell his parents.

After the performance, the actors began the play again, this time asking a receptive audience to participate. Audience members volunteered to take on the roles of the father, the mother, and the child, and improvised the script, while the audience cheered and yelled advice to the actors.

“In our society, no one talks about problems directly. There are a lot of children who live this story but don’t talk about it,” said Salam al-Sayyed, a 25-year-old graduate of the program who hoped it would “help people talk about their problems.”

Interactive theater, she added, addresses the “problems of society in a language people understand.”

Abu Younes, another graduate, agreed. “The theater is a great solution because we can explain and discuss problems that we don’t tackle in reality,” she said.

The 50-year-old, who played the part of the mother in the performance, said she joined the training program “to send a message to women and men … to stop violence and for women to be free to make their own decisions.”

A draft law on domestic abuse was endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010 but is yet to be approved by Parliament.

The United Nations estimates that one in three Lebanese women will be subjected to harassment or physical and psychological harm at some point in their lives.