Durban — In her research study towards her Master of Arts degree, Shirdika Pillai urged South African women, specifically women of Indian origin, to use their voices to speak out against violence against women.
Pillai said she chose to focus on Indian women because she was a product of the community and aware of the taboo that exists within the Indian communities of South Africa, which demand that they do not speak out about such problems, but compel them to sweep them under the carpet.
“The Indian community is a very patriarchal society. Therefore, this study was done to empower women to use their voices to change their situations,” Pillai stressed.
Pillai’s research study has brought to light the issue of domestic abuse within the Indian South African community, and the potential of using theatre as a medium to raise awareness and challenge existing patriarchal structures.
Pillai qualified with a Master of Arts degree, majoring in drama and performance studies, from UKZN’s Westville campus.
Her decision to pursue a Master’s degree in Drama and Performance Studies was driven by her desire to explore and confront the social ill of domestic abuse that remains within the boundaries of the Indian South African community.
She said her research analysed three South African plays written by Indian South African male playwrights, who turned the public spotlight of the stage onto the private stories of domestic abuse experienced by the community.
Pillai interrogated how these playwrights chose to dramatise domestic abuse.
In understanding the theatrical representations of the violence influenced by social, economic and cultural factors, interpretive assessments were made about how it is experienced in homes within the Indian South African community.
The lack of recent research about the Indian community in South Africa and its current challenges was one of the hurdles Pillai faced during her research.
One of the key outcomes of Pillai’s research, as evidenced in each of the plays, is the apparent failure of Indian South African women to challenge existing patriarchal systems, which has enabled the cycle of domestic abuse to be perpetuated in their homes and within the community.
Through her work, she was able to reflect on the scope of theatre to convey women’s stories and experiences within the Indian South African community, thus allowing them to reclaim their power and articulate their voices.
Pillai believes theatre can be a vehicle through which engrained social structures, like patriarchy, can begin to be dismantled.
Executive director at KZN Network on GBVF Cookie Edwards said GBV happened across all communities of South Africa, and all racial divides.
Edwards said GBV was a complex issue, which needed all sectors of society to combine forces in the fight against this type of violence.
“The fear of being murdered by their spouses keeps many abused women in toxic relationships. Money, children, shelter and many other aspects of a ‘secured’, ‘comfortable’ life keep women trapped in such situations. We appreciate that a lot of women out there are doing research on GBV.”
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