Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

accompanied by djembe drumming. Once the music drew in a large
enough audience (usually 50 people or more), the lead facilitator signaled
for the performers to begin. Other performances took place at schools or
during community events and the audience came specifically to see the
performance.
The program also used the Forum Theater method, in which facilitated
discussions take place during and throughout the performance. The women
performed a play in which a character is oppressed in a situation that would
be familiar to the audience. After playing it once, the actors began the play
again and, at any point during this second performance, any audience
member could call out "stop!" and take the place of the actor playing the
oppressed character. The audience member then attempted to change the
situation, while the performers playing the oppressors improvised to
attempt to bring the production to its original ending. If this audience
member failed to change the situation, the performer resumed her role and
continued until another audience member called out "stop!" and tried a
different intervention. The audience members could also replace the
oppressors, and find new ways of challenging the oppressed character. In
this way, Forum Theater encouraged dialogue rather than a didactic
depiction of a situation, enabling the participants to construct dramas and
plays based on their own experiences.
The program also used a variety of arts-based exercises, including creative
writing, photography, visual arts and movement, to help participants
discuss the causes of violence against women in their community. The
discussion around power relations in the home, for example, led to the
investigation of women’s sexual agency. Most women had accepted that it
is the man’s role to initiate sex, out of concern that men will be mistrustful or
feel insecure if a woman initiates or suggests new methods in the bedroom.
Participants saw the cultural process of assigning gender norms and roles
to women and men as the main factor that exacerbates men’s notions of
superiority. For example, during the amaXhosa ulwaluko initiation process
for young men, boys are taught that men are heads of families and stronger
than women. During the Ntonjane process for young women, girls are
taught that a married woman must submit to the will of the man of the
house. A married woman’s umakoti (duty) is to safeguard the problems of
her home; she must place the family’s needs before her own and must not
question her husband’s authority.
The project raised awareness through outreach performances conducted
within schools, religious institutions and advocacy events. The goal was to
develop and document community-oriented strategies that could be
implemented programmatically in partnership with local organizations.
Project activities peaked during the annual 16 days of activism against
gender-based violence, which is supported by community media and
challenges South Africans to declare an end to violence against women
and children. The project’s women performers were invited to perform at
events organized by various organizations and schools involved in the 2006
16 Days of Activism campaigns.
One of the functions of the performances was to address women’s legal
protection by raising awareness around legal resources and recourses
that are available to women. At the end of each performance, the lead
facilitator provided the names of various organizations the women could
consult to learn about and access legal protection. The theater
performances also helped participants increase their access to income, as
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