Ar Noy Chup Thaka

BotTala Production-7 Ar Noy Chup Thaka (No More Silence) (21 April 2015)

Ar Noy Chup Thaka is a bold, protest-oriented play directed against the ongoing sexual harassment and violence inflicted upon women and children. Bottala brought this play to the streets in response to the sexual assault of a woman during the Pohela Boishakh celebrations in 2015. Through the narration of both personal and collective experiences, three female performers hold the deeply rooted, distorted patriarchal mindset of society accountable. The play highlights agonizing experiences such as sexual harassment by close relatives during childhood, molestation by strangers in crowds, and the regular verbal abuse faced at workplaces or on the streets. This production serves as a medium to directly challenge the masculine perspective that views a woman’s body merely as an 'object of consumption' or a 'piece of meat'. Furthermore, the play clearly outlines the definition of sexual harassment and its legal penalties according to the existing laws of Bangladesh. At the conclusion of the performance, the audience is called upon to move beyond mere 'protest' and, from this moment forward, build a direct 'resistance' against any form of sexual violence.