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"I will be reviewing two plays performed by Ajoka Theatre: Barri, and Kala Meda Bhes, in reference to Anne McClintock and Afsaneh Najmabadi’s theories of nationalism. McClintock explores the nation as an extended family, wherein this domestic metaphor for the nation offers a ‘natural�...
I will be reviewing two plays performed by Ajoka Theatre: Barri, and Kala Meda Bhes, in
reference to Anne McClintock and Afsaneh Najmabadi’s theories of nationalism. McClintock
explores the nation as an extended family, wherein this domestic metaphor for the nation
offers a ‘natural’ social hierarchy which sustains masculine dominance. Whilst men represent
progressive modernity, women’s domestic roles as mothers and nurturers are politicised and
their political role is attached to their marital roles and their ‘embodiment’ of ancient
tradition.1 Najmabadi explores how the body of a woman is mapped to the nation, either as a
beloved, or a mother, thus the honour and purity of women become subjects of both male
protection and possession within nationalism. This ‘motherland’ ideology imposes distinct
citizenship roles: for the male citizen as a ‘son’, his role is to protect the honour of his
mother, for the ‘daughter’, her role is to look after the wellbeing of the mother.2
I have chosen women-centred theatre plays as cultural texts to move away from narratives of
Pakistani women as weak and easily moulded to fit nationalist ideologies. These plays
investigate the ways nationalism continues to impact women, particularly through notions of
motherhood and morality, depicting stories of Pakistani women both resisting and critiquing
oppression through their attempts to assert agency over their own lives. Women-centred
theatre in itself is a rebellion against nationalism, as Sobia Mubarak states, women within
Pakistani theatre remain significantly ghettoized from Zia’s 1980s ‘Islamisation’ and are still
battling against associations with ‘immorality’.3 Theatre is a significant tool to explore issues
surrounding nationalism and gender that are sustained and challenged in the relationship
1
Anne McClintock, 1993. Family Feuds: Gender, Nationalism and the Family. p.66
2
Afsaneh Najmabadi, 1997. The Erotic Vatan as Beloved and Mother. p.446
3
Sobia Mubarak, 2015. Dramatizing Power and Resistance. p.180
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