Pause for a Cause: Adolescent Girls use Freeze Frames to underscore Gender-Based Violence
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar: 8th March- As part of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration, Civil society organization Atmashakti Trust with its ally Bhubaneswar Bikash Sangathan, has kicked off a unique event in the capital city named “ Pause for a Cause” wherein adolescent girls from Bhubaneswar slum performed ‘freeze frames’, a specific drama form with characters, to illustrate pervasive gender-based violence in our societies. Similarly, in rural Odisha, thousands of volunteers and students of Mo Chatashalee (Remedial class) centres across 84 blocks of 17 districts in the state, which is run by thousands of volunteers and students of Mo Chatashalee (Remedial class) centres across 84 blocks of 17 districts in the state, which is run by its allies Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha and Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha, also performed various freeze frames to spread the message for an inclusive society across communities.
These girls performed various scenes such as gender-based violence, child marriage, girls education and gender equality to spread mass awareness as well as to bring the attention of policymakers to work towards a gender equalled society.
Pause for a cause: Levelling the playing field has lost ground as COVID 19 has disproportionately impacted women across the globe including Odisha. The World Economic Forum in its Closing the Gender Gap Report stated that “if we go at current rates of progress, it will take 257 years to close the economic gender gap”.
“In Odisha, As per the latest statistics of the National Health Mission (NHM) Odisha, anemia among women in the state is of high concern. According to the report, a whopping 61 percent of expectant mothers in the State are anaemic. How long will the women eat last and the least? We all need to come up together to fight against this social injustice and help build a society where women enjoy equal power and opportunities so that they can live a dignified life,” said Ms Shantilata Bhoi, President of Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha.
“As the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day event, we can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality in our society. Our motto has always been to see girls and women in front in every sphere of their life-journey and nothing can be more joyful than seeing women excelling in their fields and leaving footprints to prove that they are more capable than we have ever realised about them”, said Ms Ruchi Kashyap, Executive Trustee, Atmashakti Trust.“If we work collectively, she said, we can definitely help create an inclusive world”.
