Activism not Development Work: Explorations in Tharu kachahari natak
Chapter 5 shifts the focus from urban, professional theatre in Kathmandu to grassroots activism in western Nepal. It examines how local Tharu activists and former bonded laborers utilized kachahari natak (forum theatre) to fight the kamlari practice, a systemic form of female indentured servitude where young girls (aged 6–16) are sent to work in the homes of wealthy landowners or city elites.
Activism vs. Development Work A central theme is the ideological distinction local activists make between genuine social movements (andolan) and top-down NGO “development work.” While the grassroots organization SWAN (Society Welfare Action Nepal) partnered with international donor agencies to fund their campaigns, the activists fiercely rejected the label of “NGO workers”. They framed their fight as an indigenous, deeply personal struggle originating from the “inside” (their hearts and community), rather than a project imposed from the “outside”. Funding was only a practical tool that amplified a movement they had already initiated to save their sisters and daughters from systemic exploitation.
SWAN office (2005)
Theatre as a Bridge for Cultural Silence The chapter highlights theatre’s unique ability to circumvent cultural barriers and articulate unspoken trauma. In traditional Tharu households, strict patriarchal norms and social distancing often prevented daughters from speaking directly to their fathers about the physical violence, abuse, and exhaustion they endured as kamlaris. Kachahari natak provided a culturally acceptable medium for this communication. By staging the harsh realities of the kamlari life in village squares, the plays allowed parents to witness their daughters’ suffering indirectly, bridging the silence that perpetuated the practice.
Fieldwork in Lamahi (2005-2012)
Embodied Pain and “Real” Acting Unlike the professional urban actors of previous chapters, the Kamlari Theatre Group was composed of former kamlaris. Their performances were not viewed as “acting” but as the sharing of lived trauma. The chapter emphasizes the affective power of this embodied pain; the tears shed on stage were real, born from genuine memories of exploitation. This raw authenticity struck the “innermost parts” of the audience, provoking visceral, emotional responses and community mobilization that traditional political speeches failed to achieve.
Rehearsals in Gurukul (2005)
Strategic Aesthetics and the Local-Global Stage The chapter explores how the activists strategically adapted their theatrical aesthetics depending on the audience. In the rural villages, the kachahari plays were raw, direct, and aimed at immediate intervention, urging parents not to renew labor contracts. In contrast, when the group performed in Kathmandu for urban elites, politicians, and international donors, they “aestheticized” their oppression. They wove traditional Tharu songs, stick dances, and vibrant costumes into the drama to make the performance visually appealing, simultaneously asserting their ethnic identity and exposing their exploitation to a global audience.
Kamlari. A play collaboratively produced and performed by Aarohan Theatre Group and the Kamlari Natak Samuha (Deukhuri Valley) at Sama Theatre in Kathmandu, Nepal, 2005 (the subsequent part are available on the YouTube channel, recording by the author).
This chapter shows how grassroots activists successfully appropriated both forum theatre and international development networks to reclaim their agency. By translating their private suffering into a public, theatrical outcry, the kamlari women changed from being disempowered victims to becoming leading voices in a successful movement that eventually forced the Nepali government to abolish the practice in 2013.
To cite this book and read more: Rehearsing for Life. Theatre for Social Change in Nepal, Cambridge University Press (2018) available here.