#TogetherAgainstBullying
“Remember? This is something that happened in our class too?”
“Shh..! watch the drama for now.”
“Oh my god, such a bad boy to misuse her photo. I will never do it.”
One could hear students murmuring excitedly to their friends as they watched the story of Asmita and her bullies played out in front of them.
The drama told the story of Asmita Dhakal, a high school newcomer. Asmita leaves home for school with hopes of making friends and enjoying her new school but is brought to tears when two bullies torment her as soon as she enters the school premises. She opts to stay quiet instead of telling others and her own parents about it, which encourages her abusers to intensify their violence. Three months into the harassment, Asmita’s mental health deteriorates and her academics suffer as well. The bullying reaches its height when one of the abusers, pretending to be someone else, befriends her on social media and persuades her to send a photo of herself to him. The boy then doctors the image into pornographic material to blackmail her. When Asmita finds out, she is shocked and distressed beyond words. Tears uncontrollably slide down her cheeks as she feels shame and total helplessness, unable to find ways to bring her abusers to the book.
The room of chattering students fell silent as they stood witness to Asmita’s plight.
The drama narrator jumps into the frame and asks the audience, “What should Asmita do to overcome the situation?”
“Complain to the teachers,”
“Ask parents for help”
“Tell your friends.”
“Go to the police.”
The responses echoed from one corner to another, from one mouth to the next.
The actors enacted upon the responses right then and there and also brought students/teachers on stage to be a part of act. This audience was thrilled to be a part of the solution. In the process, they made it abundantly clear that the first step against violence and bullying is to speak up.
The drama travelled to schools across Nepal and in every location, the scene was similar, and the performance was received with the same enthusiasm. The audience laughed, clapped, and felt the pain of Asmita as many students have been exposed to bullying themselves at some point in time in their school (as mentioned in the feedback forms).
Bullying and discrimination at school can contribute to poor mental health and affect learning, while feelings of safety are linked to better mental health and education outcomes. Teachers, parents, and communities are responsible for preventing violence and supporting the abused in bringing the bullies to the book. A clear message was sent to the teachers in the audience about their role in fostering a safe learning space for students, students to speak up about it and parents to listen to their children.
On the first Thursday of every November, UNESCO observes the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying under the theme ‘No place of fear: Ending school violence for better mental health and learning’. The drama was designed to raise awareness among students, teachers, parents and community members and encourage them to stop it when they see it, provide support when needed and spread the message. It reached more than two thousand students from grades 7-12 in seven schools and two Community Learning Centers (CLCs) in Bagmati, Madhesh and Lumbini provinces of Nepal.
The interactive style of storytelling made a strong impression on the students and teachers. The feedback forms distributed at the end in every school after the end of the performance were hungrily filled in by the students with their learnings from the show.
We are greatly encouraged to do design drama on this issue and perform it in our school for our parents and other students.
The drama was really good, and it would help us if we suffer from cyberbullying or bullying.
It gives information about cyber bullying and ending school violence for better mental health and learning.
I learnt that we should never bully and if we are bullied, we should fight back with confidence.
Be it at school, community, or in the family – bullies are everywhere, and many do not face any consequences for the amount of physical and mental distress they put their victims through. The reasons? Lack of awareness, fear of the oppressor, and absence of support system at school and home, amongst others.
The drama was designed and performed by Tappu Productions and supported by UNESCO.
Let’s stand #TogetherAgainstBullying.
