Art as a means of advocating for women under abuse

How important is it to engage women’s cause in the realm of dance generally and in Misahat Noon’s Project particularly?

A question that we touched upon in Misahat Podcast with our guest, the American dance choreographer “Heather Harrington” whose experience included valuable collaborations with choreographers from the MENA region to raise awareness towards violence against women.

Misahat Noon is a project implemented by DCS and supported by the US  Embassy in Tunisia. It maily seeks to fight for the rights of women under abuse. Our guest asserted that her contribution was inspired by  the American modern dance teacher “Martha Graham” who managed to revolutionize the world of dance with her innovative and individualistic techniques and sought to empower females.

In January 2023, our guest had closely assisted a group of dancers in the context of an Art Bootcamp in Tataouine aimed at uncovering social discriminatory and violent practices.

During the workshops, Heather highlighted the importance of engaging dancers in stimulating discussions and debates that delved into thought-provoking topics such as violence, gender, religion, and power. These conversations provided an opportunity for participants coming from different backgrounds to explore and analyze the complex dynamics of these issues both locally and internationally. By opening up such discussions, individuals were encouraged to develop their critical thinking abilities and criticize violence and injustice through the art of movement.

Hence, perceiving dance as the “practice of living” as she states is what nurtured her belief in collective efforts aiming to uncover the reality of human struggles and combat oppression.