Thali gang: Making noise about women’s safety & dignity
MEERUT: Thirty rural teenage girls are using an old Indian tradition of beating ‘thalis’ to celebrate a baby boy’s birth for raising burning questions on issues of women’s safety and dignity.
Students of Malhu Singh Arya Kanya Inter College of Daural area of the district, under the mentorship of their principal and two social activists, formed the ‘Thali Gang’ about two months ago, to “redefine the tradition of beating thalis”.
“We want to symbolise this same thali (used as an instrument of celebrating male births) as the strength of girls and women. The idea is working well,” said Atul Sharma, social activist and president of NGO ‘Sankalp’.
“The girls beat thalis in public places. Passers-by pause and ask them why. And the girls want them to do just that. They reply with counter questions, such as, ‘what will the society, which celebrates male births with thalibeating, do when these boys grow up to become rapists and harm women,” said Sharma.
The formation of the gang was the joint idea of Sharma, principal of Malhu Singh Arya Kanya Inter College Dr Neera Tomar and social activist Dharamveer.
Dr Tomar said, “We first created a group ‘Let Me Speak’ on May 11. The idea was to provide girls a platform to speak about the harassment they faced in their daily life. The group got a tremendous response and many other young girls of the school also came forward to join it. Overwhelmed by the success, the group mentors selected 30 confident and smart girls, students of Classes 9-12, to form a more active sub-group, which we named ‘Thali Gang’.”
Rupal of village Bharota passed out Class 12 this year but she still remains an active member of the gang. “Being a member of the ‘Thali Gang’, I feel confident and empowered to fight against the odds that girls and women face in their daily lives,” she said. Rashmi of village Kutesra and Kajal of Daurala agreed and said that almost all girls they knew had to face unpleasant incidents -- either within the ‘safe walls’ of their homes or outside. “It depends on you -- whether you accept it or want to fight against it. We have decided to raise our voice against it in our own way,” they said.
All the gang members hail from humble family backgrounds. Their fathers are smallscale farmers, drivers, barbers, tailors or employed in private jobs. But, they happily consented to their daughters joining the ‘Thali Gang’.
So far, the gang has performed in eight locations of Meerut and Baghpat districts. The girls first enact street plays in which they raise issues of eve teasing, acid attacks, domestic violence, sexual harassment -- both in and outside homes -- and the apathy of the male-dominated society. Thereafter, they beat thalis for half-anhour to attract more viewers and sensitise people on these issues.
Among the actors in the group is Kajal, who usually plays the part of the victim. Gang members say she infuses life into her characters. “She gets into the character so deeply that after the play is over, she needs time to come out of it,” said Dr Tomar. “This indicates how much these girls are affected by incidents of eve teasing and sexual harassment,” she added. Dr Tomar said the gang’s job does not end with performing street plays and beating thalis. “They keep discussing these issues within their families and with other people to bring about a change in the mindset of people,” she said.Sharma said the girls were doing a spending job and they were now planning to form similar gangs in neighbouring districts. “A few colleges in Baghpat and Hapur have shown interest in this concept. We will soon replicate the ‘Thali Gang’ model there,” he said.