A bold attempt to break the silence

Daniel Nelson

Nirbhaya

Image by Southbank Centre

Provoked by the shocking, fatal attack on a 23-year-old woman and her partner in Delhi in 2012, the piece is a tirade about sexual violence against women, in all its malevolent forms, from incessant groping on buses to the burning of unwanted wives, from attacks by various “uncles” and “trusted family friends” to the frenzied rape and evisceration that finally sparked outrage in India.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets. Their anger forced the government into action, but the show’s message is that if men almost always perpetrate sexual violence, it is silence that perpetuates it.

It is the need to end the silence that justifies the recounting of personal experiences of abuse by members of the cast of six, graphic descriptions of assault, the admissions of feelings of worthlessness after attacks. One performer, Sneha Jawale, recounts how her husband doused her in kerosene and set her alight.

“Silences are what make us complicit in the violence,” says actor, activist and businesswoman Poorna Jagannathan.

“Be responsible, take action! Break the silence!” says fellow performer Japjit Kaur.

It matters because as ActionAid literature in the foyer reminds audience members:

·         reported rapes in Delhi almost doubled in 2012-13

·         reported cases of sexual assault almost quadrupled

·         reported rape cases across India rose by over 50 per cent in the last decade, while conviction rates almost halved.

India makes other special contributions to discrimination by, for example, the scourge of the aborting of girl babies.

It’s not, of course, only an Indian problem. One woman in three worldwide faces gender-based violence, according to the UN. More than 40 million girls are denied a primary education, and two-thirds of the world’s illiterate young people are female. Every year 60 million girls are sexually assaulted on the way to or at school.

The figures are appalling, but Nirbhaya (“the fearless one”) is about painful personal testimony, not statistics. And next week it begins an Indian tour – Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, thanks to a crowdfunding appeal.

Sadly, it will be seen only by over-18s, because of India’s theatre regulations. But it’s a start,

·         Nirbhaya is at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, until 12 March. Tickets £22.50/ Info:7960 4200

·         http://www.nirbhayatheplay.com

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