It was the boys who followed me, I did nothing wrong, 16-year-old Bhuvana (name changed) plucked the courage to tell her parents while attending a ‘Bridging the Gaps’ youth camp with Chennai-based Katradi (Wind Dancer’s Trust). Bhuvana’s father had beaten her a few days before and put an end to her tuition classes when he heard about some boys following her there.“There is a fundamental division in our society where, by Class V, boys and girls are sitting in different sections and the conversation between genders is completely cut off, especially in govt schools and lower-income schools,” says Sangeeta Isvaran, founder of Katradi, an NGO which works on social transformation through art.Gender and social justice are discussed throughout the day in the Katradi camps, but the first step is to break the ice between boys and girls through Ultimate Frisbee, early in the morning. “Ultimate is the only mixed gender sport that is available to us today; all others, cricket or football, badminton or kabaddi have men’s and women’s teams.”Initially, says Sangeeta, the boys pass the frisbee only to boys, and the girls only to girls, but soon they realise they have to communicate and coordinate their strategy, and work together as a group with respect. “And to work together, they have to build a strong friendship.”Children aged 13 to 18 from govt schools and underprivileged backgrounds take part in the camps, which are held in Tamil Nadu and other states. The camps are held in collaboration with Transformational Sports, a US-based non-profit founded by Elizabeth Haynes. Katradi’s ‘She Matters’ workshop encourages grown women to play Ultimate, and both young and old play together with great joy, says Sangeeta, a bharatanatyam dancer who has worked with people with disabilities, children rescued from sexual trafficking, and children in conflict zones in 40 countries for more than 30 years. “Sometimes women come and tell us this is the first time they have played something or even run since they got married.”Katradi also uses the power of performance arts to break gender barriers in youngsters. “As a bharatanatyam dancer, I play characters of all genders such as Rama, Sita, Surpanakha and Ravana. I know how the body works,” says Sangeeta. “When you walk into a room as a woman, do you make eye contact with everybody? Or have you been taught by society that a good woman does not make eye contact? So we work through the body to help kids understand that they’ve been brainwashed into a particular behaviour.”In their gender sessions, they discuss reproductive health, puberty, menstruation and more. “We demystify sex education with young boys, and help them navigate puberty, which no one discusses with them.” After the sessions, they have had boys come up to them and say, “I buy pads for my mother and sister now” or “We used to think it’s cool to stand on the side of the road and comment on girls, but now we want to create a safe neighbourhood”. They have also had children who have been shamed into silence open up about incidents when they were molested by teachers or family members.
