For her final project as a Doyle Undergraduate Fellow,
Devika Ranjan explored the intersection of political theater and social
justice. Through a series of blogs, she engages issues of faith, women’s
rights, and free speech in South Asia.
SCENE THREE.
LIGHTS UP.
A puppet show
performance in a rural village in India.
The audience is mostly children.
PUPPET BOY: Mr. Doctor, I don’t want to get a shot!
PUPPET DOCTOR: But it will make you stronger. Like your
favorite super hero!
PUPPET BOY: Really? Will it make me like Superman?
PUPPET DOCTOR: Exactly. These shots prevent against polio, a
very bad disease.
PUPPET BOY: Will it hurt?
PUPPET DOCTOR: Just a pinch!
PUPPET BOY: Ow. That wasn’t so bad.
PUPPER DOCTOR: You, and all your friends, and all of your
brothers and sisters should get this shot. Superman will not get polio! And
now, neither will you.
The children clap.
LIGHTS DOWN.
SCENE THREE.
Street theater has also been essential to health education
in India—most notably, in the form of polio eradication. Polio was one of the
most prevalent diseases on the Indian subcontinent at the end of the twentieth
century, with very little hope of eradication. Thanks to a nationwide effort
to wipe out the disease, it has been over three years since there was a single
case of polio.
A major cause of polio epidemics in India was lack of
awareness about the vaccine and poor sanitation. Although the vaccine was
fairly common and not difficult to mass-produce, many did not know why the
vaccine was necessary or its effects on their children. Additionally, poor
sanitation was widespread and accounted for most cases of polio. The disease is
spread through contaminated water, which was extremely common in India. Unfortunately, the marginalized communities
that most needed this information were often the hardest to reach.
In the past, mass media outlets have driven polio
eradication campaigns in regions that deal with similar poverty and sanitation
issues. For instance, a television and radio campaign in Latin America “aimed at increasing demands for
vaccines, especially in areas with a good health infrastructure and high
routine immunization rates” (Achieving
polio eradication: a review of health communication evidence and lessons
learned in India and Pakistan, World Health Organization). As televisions
are fairly common in Latin America, mass media advertisements were effective in
spreading the message; however, the majority of the targeted Indian population
did not have television access. Additionally, the low literacy rates in rural
communities rendered pamphlets and written advertisements ineffective.
As a result,
the India Polio Eradication Program took unconventional steps to fight the
disease. The organization created local partnerships that raised awareness in
geographically-specific, culturally-specific ways. Street theater, in its
regional adaptability and face-to-face persuasiveness, was highly effective in
spreading vaccine and sanitation awareness. It capitalized on local resources
and could target “neighborhoods dealing with pockets of vaccine refusals, using
their performances to educate parents on the risks of poliovirus and the safety
of the vaccine” (Cricket stars and
theatre troupes promote a polio-free India, Global Polio Eradication Initiative).
For instance,
the Kolkata Creative Arts Performers were based in West Bengal. They used
street theater to target audiences and claimed to access “the remotest part of
any village where no electronic media can reach” (Kolkata Creative Art Performers). The
organization partnered with many NGOs, including UNICEF, in order to convince
families the the polio vaccine would benefit their children. Their performances
aimed to entertain children, featuring characters representing evil polio viruses
and other bodily germs. Not only did the performances promote vaccines, they
also encouraged healthy behaviors such as handwashing. According to a research report from Rabindra
Bjarati University, the performances gained high levels of mass approval (Thakur).
Polio
eradication is one of the few cases that political theater’s effectiveness has
been empirically tested. Statistically, these performances both increased
awareness and attendance at the vaccine booths. “Puppet/theatre shows, video
vans and other folk media activities held in more than 3500 villages in Uttar
Pradesh, contributed to a 20% increase in booth attendance.” (Galway, Communication for polio eradication: India
update.) In its contributions to the polio eradication movement, street
theater has proved its worth in a healthcare and social capacity and continues
to work for positive societal change in marginalized Indian communities.
References
Galway, M.
Communication for polio eradication: India update. In: Technical Advisory Group Meeting, Communication for polio eradication,
Cameroon, 2005.
Global Polio
Eradication Initiative. Cricket stars and
theatre troupes promote a polio-free India. 2011. Web. December 29, 2014.
Kolkata
Creative Arts Performers. “Kolkata
CREATIVE ART PERFORMERS.” Blogspot.com. April 3, 2007.
Obregon,
Rafael; Chitnis, Ketan; Morry, Chris; Feek, Warren; Bates, Jeffrey; Galway,
Michael; and Ellyn Ogden. Achieving polio
eradication: a review of health communication evidence and lessons learned in
India and Pakistan. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 87-8: 624-630
(2009).
Thakur, Priyam.
“Theatre for Development in Indian Context: An Introspection.” Global Media
Journal- Indian Edition. 4.2. (2013).
