Sheema Kermani Who?

Sheema Kermani is a classical dancer, teacher, drama artist and women’s rights activist. I have always been a big fan, since I’ve known about her; because she represents change, innovation and challenges the mainstream culture of Pakistan. Till date, dance isn’t acceptable wholeheartedly, there will always be those 10 people in a crowd of 15 who will object or frown upon it. And what’s amazing is that she has been dancing and performing since the time of Zia-ul-Haq. No joke. And it amazes me how being a woman in a society like ours she was able to go against the narrow minds that prevailed then and still linger now in an attempt to shed light upon a bigger picture.

On researching I found that there is so much more to her that is admirable then just the fact that she is in the true sense an innovator. The beauty in it all is how she doesn’t need a political backing, she doesn’t need an audience full of the elite class and she sure doesn’t need a gun to change minds; because her weapon is the stage and her ammunition is her performance on that stage. 

Sheema Kermani has lived in Delhi and studied the classical forms of Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak dance. She gives many talks, workshops and lecture demonstrations on the history, significance, beauty and importance of this form of art which in turn has helped in its awareness and acceptance. In 2005, Kermani was nominated as one of the “1000 Peace Women from across the Globe”, for the Nobel peace Prize. 

She started working for peace and joined the anti-war movement in the late sixties and initially started her fight for women’s rights by organizing female factory workers and opened women's literacy and day-care centers at textile mills. On realizing that, that was not enough, she formed a group called ‘Tehrik-e-Niswan’ (The Women’s Movement) in 1979 which comprised of women from all walks of life. The purpose of the group was to address human rights and especially the rights of women. They started off with workshops but realized that, what was needed were cultural changes and hence staged plays addressing women and their oppression in all forms. They began raising awareness through the use of dance and the performing arts. Her troupe performs plays on social ills in low income urban and rural communities that touch on taboo topics, including domestic violence, rape, child molestation, the fate of unmarried women, and the importance of education for girls. In addition to working for women’s empowerment, Tehrik-e-Niswan also performs plays to portray their dislike for war. 

I happen to be a strong believer of the arts, in all forms. Be it dance, music, drama, literature or paintings, they all are dangerous because they change minds, they influence, they ignite and empower. And Sheema Kermani embraces this fact and uses it positively to change the lives of the unaware through her performances.