In Tajikistan, violence against women, harassment and gender discrimination have been addressed through video documentaries and theatrical performances.
The reality of fundamental rights being violated by people close to them has become commonplace for many Tajik women. But it is often a reality hidden behind the veil of family well-being. In Tajikistan, people try to keep the problems women face out of the public eye, notes Doc Theatre director Zoir Kuzmin.
This project appeared in 2022 and through theatre art tells the audience about harassment, domestic violence and rape. Things that are usually not talked about.
The authors of the performances show the real problems of Tajik families and give the audience food for thought and discussion.
“I was totally unprepared for maternity, but did they ask me?”
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This is one of the theatre’s plays, The Mummy. In a minute and a half the authors reveal several issues at once – gender stereotypes about the role of women in society, violence, restrictions in access to education, forced marriage and early motherhood.
The heroine of the performance is a young girl whose ambitious dreams of a law degree were shattered by her parents reminding her of a woman’s role in society: “To be a wife, stay at home, and have children”. And upon learning of her attempt to enter higher education, the heroine’s father brutally beat her and then married her to her cousin. At 18, she is already a mother and married to a man she does not love.
The Global Gender Gap Index 2022 reports that Tajikistan ranks 114th out of 146 countries worldwide. International organisations and governmental bodies estimate that between 50% and 80% of women and children in Tajikistan experience violence.
According to the Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs, they received 3,485 reports of domestic violence in 2021, 176 fewer than in 2020. However, according to the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, the number of domestic violence cases reported annually is increasing.
It’s the “aggressors” we need to work on.
“Each of our stories encourages the audience to think about loved ones, friends, neighbours, and their surroundings, who may also be experiencing this. The theatre performances are aimed not only at women but also at male viewers, who are invited to reconsider their ideas about the role of women, to think about what role they can play in stopping violence and discrimination against women and girls,” say the creators of the Doc Theatre project.
This is the first time a project of this format has been implemented in Tajikistan. All performances are based on real events and consist of real dialogues and people’s monologues.
“The viewer gets to see and feel the full weight of the experiences of the stories told,” says Zoir Kuzmin.
According to him, it is not easy to work in this direction because here “you have to work with people’s pain”. During filming, we often had to take breaks, and it was hard for the actors – they had to put all the stories through themselves, and this was devastating for them both mentally and physically.
Innovative approaches such as a documentary theatre can help fight gender-based violence, psychologist Firuza Mirzoeva said. When people understand that the stories they see are not fiction and that behind each performance there are stories of real people, it has a great impact on their psyche.
But, according to her, it is important not just to tell such stories, but to work with those who are showing aggression. She notes that this is difficult because such people are hard to get to talk to. Usually, aggressors will not admit to doing harm, but in this way, it is possible to influence other potential aggressors.
“Stories from the victim’s side, help more people who are in a similar situation. Such stories probably don’t have much impact on the aggressors. But this is not to say that we should not use any tools to work with gender-based violence, especially domestic violence, and Doc Theatre, as one tool, has its place,” says Mirzoeva.