by Kamla Bhasin, Pacific and Asian Women's Forum

The following is the text of a paper on women's communication strategies delivered at the workshop on communication strategies for women convened at the Society for International Development's recent conference on Poverty, Development and Collective Survival:

I want to begin by singing two couplets:

In a country where women are insulted and are unhappy Tell me, oh tell me truly, can that country be called FREE (If women were just one or two in the whole population we might have remained silent But the fact, my friends, is that we are as many in a country as men.)

Friends, if, instead of 20 minutes I had two more hours and if I could communicate with all of you in my own language rather than be constrained to speak with you in a foreign language, I promise you I would sing for you and with you for hours, I would really illustrate how we are using media for empowering women. Instead of talking at you. But ALAS! What can we do? Such International Conferences are all short of time and long on demands. I am to tell you about the success stories of women using creating innovative media in South Asia. Stories which are long, stories which are full of anguish and joy, stories full of pains of creativity, stories full of energy, hope — all in 20 minutes, 3 or more of which have already slipped away. But let me try.

The key words given to me are communication, and development. I feel I cannot talk without explaining what I understand by these words. Life itself is not possible without communication, so how can development be possible without it.

For me, communication is not or should not be a one way traffic of messages. But unfortunately, in all our societies, ridden with inequalities and injustices communication, is normally one way. Messages are controlled and passed from the powerful to the weak; i.e., from the industrialised countries to the third world, from the leaders to the led, from the well fed to the unfed, from men to women, etc. Ideally communication should be a dialogue, and a dialogue between equals.

Also a word about mainstream media here. Mainstream is what is central, and what is most important and most common. In countries like mine, where more than 50% of the people are illiterate, where about 50% cannot afford food, leave aside TV, or newspapers, or radios or books; mainstream is really not TV, Radio, Press. All these is little stream for and by the elite, to control the rest. Mainstream in our countries is - interpersonal communication, village gatherings and fairs, folk songs and dance, folk theatre, and other media created and controlled by the masses. It is all these media, for us the mainstream, we women are also trying to use.

A few words on development. Development for me is not just an increase in production and an increasing GNP, more industry poisoning the environment, more fertilisers ruining our waters and fields. Development is not centralisation of power, it is not creation of hierarchies at every level. Development is not having 5-star hotels like the one we are in now, using so many resources while millions a few kilometers from here have no electricity, no water, no roof and no food. I find it difficult to call the industrialised countries developed because I am not sure if increasing alienation, excessive consumerism, blatant misuse and over consumption of non-renewable resources is development. Can societies which have brought us to the doorstep of nuclear holocaust, which have created Bhopals and Chernobyls, societies which make billions of dollars on pornography be called developed?

Development for many of us is, the unfolding of everyone's potential. It is the expression of everyone's humanity and creativity. Development for us has to be people-based, people- oriented. It has to fulfill everyone's need and not their greed; it has to grow like a tree from below upwards; it has to be in harmony and not in conflict with nature. Development is empowerment of people and not their control and domestication. Development is holistic, multi-dimensional and not just material and economic. Most of what we have around is mal-development or male development.

In our notion of development, woman has to and will be central. Development will be around her, by her, because then we will worry about food, and fodder and fuel and children and animals and nature, i.e. the essentials of life, the basic needs of the population. So when we use media we use it to talk about all these and more issues and talk in a way which can be easily understood.

Now I come to women's use of media. You already know it, but let me say it anyway - that till recently creation of knowledge was entirely in the hands of (upper class) men. All forms of knowledge and all kinds of myths have been created by men. They have also defined what is knowledge and what is science, what is history and what is religion, what is objective and what is subjective, what is civilized and uncivilized, what is development and what is backwardness, what is male and what is female. Almost all our religions, all our sciences, all our fiction has been produced by men.

Women have been the recipients of male knowledge - also the victims of it. Men have defined for us women what a woman is, should be and aspire to be.

It is perhaps for the first time in history that a large number of women are entering the domain of creation of knowledge. They are now challenging male science and knowledge, they are reinterpreting religion, they are rewriting history they are breaking the silence and exposing the injustice, the inequality which lies hidden or not so hidden in every family. This is the most exciting thing which is happening in the world.

Women's use of media, women's creation of media, is part of this historical process of women understanding that whoever controls media controls the message. So women have started controlling media to give her own messages.

Women's media innovations are directly related to the state of women's movement. If there is thinking by women on women, if there are women's programmes, if there are women activists only then there can be exciting women's media. There is a dialectical relationship between the two, one leads to the other, one strengthens the other.

Women's movement all over the world has generated women's media. Women are writing books, publishing magazines and newsletters, making films and slides, making posters, writing songs and making audio-cassettes. They are doing street theatre, using puppets, they are communicating through embroidery, wall painting, dance.

I would like to tell you stories of the plays women have been doing, songs they have been writing and singing, posters they have been making and printing and also of video films they have been making, children's books they have been writing. But I cannot tell you everything because of the limited time I have. First, let me tell you about the innovative use of media in Pakistan.

I want to start with Pakistan because somehow there is this impression that nothing much is happening or can happen there because of political repression which is particularly harsh on women. But creativity of the courageous women of Pakistan, facing anti-women laws everyday has been thriving. There is not much space and yet they communicate. They prove the saying - the more you will press, the higher we will rise.

The Government of Pakistan proposed a new law of evidence according to which the evidence of two women would be equal to that of one man. Women were to be reduced to half a person. It was not possible to write against this proposed law, or to use TV and radio to mobilise women. Political rallies, seminars were also not possible. Yet the issue needed to be discussed, women needed to be warned. Women's Action Forum, Lahore, decided to organise a women's Mela or fair and in that, organise a variety entertainment programme. There were no restrictions on such fairs and variety entertainment programme. They got permission for these. Hundreds of women came. They sang but not innocuous songs, they spoke but not apolitical stuff, they performed but not just for entertainment. The fair provided the space for women's songs, for discussions. They did a short skit on the proposed law of evidence which was going to reduce women to half a person - all in the name of religion! AMEN!

In the skit were three women - a woman journalist and two lady policemen. The lady policemen were trying to stop a motorcylist who was driving on the foothpath. The male offender did not stop on the command of women. The journalist asks one of the policewomen "Tell me, how has the new law of evidence affected you police women?" Policewoman: "Oh, it's quite clear. Now, when we take a case to the court, the Judge believes only half of what we say. If we women say this man has committed murder, the Judge punishes him for theft. If we charge someone under Law 420, the Judge punishes him under 210, if we charge someone for theft, the Judge simply scolds the offender and lets him off."

Journalist: "Are there any other changes?"

Policewoman: "Yes, yes, many. Now everything is according to status - since our status is half, when uniforms are distributed she gets the trousers, I get the shirts, she gets the cap I get the belt, she gets the gun, I get the bullet. So when we go on police encounters we women die - for the nation."

Journalist: "What? Die? How come we never read about policewomen dying in encounters?"

Policewoman: "Oh, well - it's reported differently. The news items says - two policewomen committed suicide. Well, actually, it is suicide when the opponent has a gun with bullets and you either have the gun or the bullets."

Journalist: "And then?"

Policewoman: "What then? Everything according to status. The last rites of men are performed after 40 days, ours are finished after 20!"

Journalist: "I am told your maternity leave is to be reduced to half. This is surely something which two women can't do together?"

Policewoman: "This is what you think. Their mathematics is different. They say, instead of one woman taking nine months to produce one child, nine women should take one month to produce one child. Then you won't need any maternity leave. Casual leave would be enough to have a child."

The skit went on in this vein. Women were in fits of laughter but also incensed by the proposed law. The skit is an excellent example of innovative and most subversive media. It uses a form which is familiar. It brings out the ridiculous nature of the law, it forces people to think about it. It can be performed anywhere, modified, suddenly stopped if necessary. Through such skits. Women's Action Forum generated discussion, mobilised women, collected signatures, petitioned, made enough noise to stop the passing of the law in the form it was proposed.

Is this a success story? How do we judge success? The real success of such media will perhaps be when the movement succeeds, if the cause for which you are doing it gets fulfilled. That is a long way away.

But it is successful in so far as it gets the message across, it explains the issue, it generates thought and discussion, it gets hope, it triggers off women's creativity, it energises, it empowers, it makes women laugh. In fact, for me making women laugh heartily is success enough - let us have a good laugh ourselves.

There is a lot of women's theatre in South Asia, the area I know best. Women's groups, both in the rural and urban areas, are writing and doing plays on issues like wife-battering, dowry, women's status, unequal wages, sexual harassment, environment, drought, water, education, health.

These plays may be written collectively or by one women and then changed by others. They may be directed collectively or individually. Ordinary women are writing plays, acting in them. Street theatre generates lots of discussion, it creates a dialogue with people, it charges the atmosphere with challenge, with questions, with defiance, with collective strength.

But theatre does not work just outwards - meaning giving messages to others. It starts a process of reflection and empowerment within those who do these plays. Their own personalities change when they stand in a street to perform. To write plays, you need a clear understanding of the issues. The messages have to be sharp and clear. This requires rigorous analysis and understanding.

Posters - Another low-cost but explosive medium - being used a lot is that of posters. Some of the posters made by South Asian women in a workshop and printed by a Women's Publishing House in Delhi called Kali for Women, are displayed in this hall. Ordinary women make these posters. We are trjing to break the division between artists and consumers of art.

Art has been part of every woman's life- art has been integrated with life. It is the wrong kind of development which has divided life into compartments. We are trying to dismantle some of these compartments.

We are using posters a lot. Such posters are emerging from all over - they are filling our walls, spreading messages.

Video - After not touching video for a long time, women have started using it now because it is all around. Women are now making films and videos. Their numbers arc slowly increasing. We are conducting training programmes for women to demystify this medium and also to enable women to get hold of this technology.

Mainstream media is extremely important. We are trying to use that. I am not speaking about it because Anita spoke and Neerja will speak.

Songs - singing is part of women's life. Women sing - using any excuse. They sing while working at home, in the fields, they sing on festivals and fairs, marriages and religious ceremonies. Ours is an oral tradition. In societies with low levels of literacy, songs do wonders. The form is familiar to them. I have myself been writing songs - using folk melodies - just changing their words.

These kinds of songs are being written by illiterate women — sung by them. It's not just middle class women who are writing songs.

These songs emerge out of the movement. I write songs, but actually all I do is to pick up ideas and words thrown up by women's groups, just catch the feelings, the emotions, the energy and weave them into a song.

On last two Women's Days we made films on two of these songs and managed to show them on Indian television. The songs are not only on problems and issues; there are a num„ bcr of songs celebrating women's solidarity, strength, creativity, songs about women's dreams, songs about a society without class and gender hierarchies. If I had the lime, I would sing them ail for you, with you.

I see that my time is over and so I will conclude my talk by singing one of my songs. Songs like this, skits, posters are now all around. Every workshop, every meeting, every demonstration resounds with these songs. These songs, posters, are making their way into schools, colleges, universities. They are even entering conference halls like these.

May they reach you everywhere, may we be able to sing our way to a better world.

This workshop on communication was convened by the InterPress Service and Isis International. For a fuller report, see, pg. 31.

Photographs for this article were supplied by Sheba Chachhi