Marcia (Prudence Burke), a single mother who is frustrated as she is about to lose her job, learns that her youngest daughter is sexually active. - Kyle Macpherson/Freelance Photographer
The Women's Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC) will be taking theatre to the street corners in Kingston in the near future as they recently launched their Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) community outreach programme, using drama as the main means of communication and to attract attention.
On Tuesday, July 22, the initial community dialogue on the CEDAW, was staged on Beechwood Avenue with the men in the audience competing with one another to 'cool' the hot temper of 'Marcia', played by Prudence Burke, a single mother about to be laid off from her job and at the same time, she discovers that her youngest daughter is being 'supported' by her delinquent father's best friend.
Delinquent father
With men after men from the audience volunteering to be the delinquent father who offers solutions, none could produce the required 'sweet tongue' to allay Marcia's frustrations.
The current CEDAW initiative is intended to communicate to grassroots women and their families their basic human rights, and how they can find ways to overcome the difficulties they face on a daily basis.
In the drama, a cast of 10 women from WROC's Women Working for Progress (WWP) committee, directed by playwright Carol Laws, discussed and dramatised issues, including the right to employment. Their theme song says:
Woman must take the lead
And then we will succeed
To fix some a the things weh a hurt we.
In the play, other issues discussed were water supplies for rural women, discrimination against those with HIV/AIDs, discrimination against those who live in the inner-cities, child abuse, molestation and delinquent fathers. The need to get counselling and other interventions were also discussed.
But, it was Marcia's furious monologue on her status as soon to be unemployed single mother which ignited audience's response. One man, after failing to placate her, said, "She is a viperous person. Things would work out better if she (Marcia) would listen." The actress replied, "Marcia is trying to be a mother and a father at the same time. She is under pressure."
Listening
According to Faith St Catherine, WROC counsellor who acted as meeting rapporteur, women and their families could significantly improve their family relations by listening and using 'I' statements such as, 'I feel sad, tired, jealous; I feel you don't love me', instead of constantly making angry accusations.
WWP-WROC players have been honing their craft since 2007 when they first received specialist training in drama. Through this medium, in 2008, they intend to spread messages about the rights of women as discussed in CEDAW.
The production was the final in a series of WWP efforts. In November 2007, the group also presented Tek Weh Yu Self, a play about HIV/AIDs awareness and prevention, and in January, they staged, Parenting without Abuse. So stirring have been their messages that they have been invited by the Bureau of Women's Affairs and the Ministry of Health to perform.
Christine Senior, WWP coordinator, ensures that her cast members come out for rehearsals and oversee the production to ensure that what develops from the shared ideas is what best fits the theme under discussion.
"We want to go out into the community. When we do that, we hope individuals will understand CEDAW more and put in practice what they have learnt about it. The group hopes to take the production into various communities within Kingston as they spread the message of women's rights to those who will listen," notes Senior.
As their CEDAW song states:
Man and woman have to deal wit them history,
Is a whole heap a things stacked against we
But we cant just give in to the pressure,
We have to work every day to make things better
CEDAW is a thing
that can help we
It will help Government to defend we
CEDAW can help to release some a di pressure
And bring results that the whole a we can measure.
