Noted theatre activist Madeeha Gauhar dies
Madeeha Gauhar, an icon of independent theatre in Pakistan and a tireless campaigner for peace with India, died at her hometown of Lahore on Wednesday after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 61.
The actor, director and activist was well-known for her commitment to theatre for social change and was also one of Pakistan’s leading women’s rights activists. She founded Ajoka Theatre in 1984 with her husband, playwright Shahid Nadeem.
Gauhar frequently collaborated with Indian artists and staged a number of plays at theatre festivals in India.
Ajoka Theatre’s plays are often based on social and human rights issues, such as female literacy, honour killings, oppression of women and religious extremism. While this endeared Gauhar to the liberals, she and her plays were often the target of Pakistan’s hardliners.
Burqavaganza, a satirical play that Gauhar described as “a love story in the times when society is grappling with issues such as extremism, intolerance and terrorism”, was banned by Pakistan in 2010. The play used the burqa as a metaphor for political and social cover-ups but angered leaders of the rightwing Jamaat-e-Islami.
Other plays by Ajoka Theatre included Mera Rang De Basanti Chola that took a look at Bhagat Singh’s role in the independence movement.
Gauhar was the first Pakistani to receive the prestigious Prince Claus Award for her leadership of Ajoka, which was praised by organisers of the Dutch prize for withstanding “pressures from the political and religious establishment, and (remaining) committed to the cause of theatre for social change”. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.