Making a Difference: US playwright and academic Lia Gladstone talked to Beverly Andrews about her work experience in Afghanistan
From The Middle East Magazine, March, 2011
Living an era of nonstop news, consumers can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of global events. The impact of this onslaught can be to make people feel less engaged, powerless to take any kind of action they feel could make a significant difference.
The extraordinary American lecturer and playwright Lia Gladstone decided not to be a passive observer of world events and, in the aftermath of America's invasion of Afghanistan she took a life-changing decision. On a brief visit to London she talked to The Middle East magazine about the choice she made and how it affected her life.
"I guess like everyone else I knew, I was shocked by the invasion and particularly concerned about what I felt the consequences were going to be for the people living there. The first thing I did was organise a charity event for Afghan refugees and for that event I wrote a play that focused on the lives of three famous Afghan women from history. It's strange to think that here in the West, Afghanistan has dominated our news for several years now and most people are still completely ignorant of the country and its rich history."
For more go to: http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/magazine/432/487
From The Middle East Magazine, March, 2011
Living an era of nonstop news, consumers can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of global events. The impact of this onslaught can be to make people feel less engaged, powerless to take any kind of action they feel could make a significant difference.
The extraordinary American lecturer and playwright Lia Gladstone decided not to be a passive observer of world events and, in the aftermath of America's invasion of Afghanistan she took a life-changing decision. On a brief visit to London she talked to The Middle East magazine about the choice she made and how it affected her life.
"I guess like everyone else I knew, I was shocked by the invasion and particularly concerned about what I felt the consequences were going to be for the people living there. The first thing I did was organise a charity event for Afghan refugees and for that event I wrote a play that focused on the lives of three famous Afghan women from history. It's strange to think that here in the West, Afghanistan has dominated our news for several years now and most people are still completely ignorant of the country and its rich history."
For more go to: http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/magazine/432/487
Kabul Calling
Published: Monday, Nov 9, 2009, 23:59 IST
By Sujata Chakrabarti | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Playwright Lia Gladstone talks about the difficulties of doing theatre in Kabul. For an American woman earning her bread and butter in one of the most conflict-ridden zones in the world, Afghanistan can throw up a plethora of problems. For one, Lia Gladstone cannot ever walk on the road. Wherever she goes, a driver must always escort her in a well-covered car.
She has to face questions from her own group of male students at the university in Kabul about whether it is really right to allow women to participate in public gatherings. The badgering never ends.
Lia, who was in India to participate in the 8th International Women Playwrights Conference, insists that she prefers to remain unfazed by such incidents. The playwright narrates, “I was working in Alaska for the Legislature, till I decided to take up a teaching position in Kabul. Post 9/11, I had done a play about Afghan women that impressed the university and I got a job to teach academic and creative writing.” Among 20 students, Lia informs there were only two women.
But teaching Agatha Christie’s TheMousetrap was not enough. Soon Lia began working with a human rights organisation AHRDO to teach theatre to adults. “It’s been our effort to take theatre out to the community,” states the playwright. But involving women in theatre is a big challenge, she adds. Lia gives us something to ponder on — the playwright actually mentions a law signed by president Hamid Karzai that allows a man to have sex with his wife anytime he wants. “The only humans you see on the roads of Kabul are men. Even the women in my theatre group have to be behind closed doors by 8 pm.”
The disparity is so stark that in class, Lia says the women are too reluctant to voice their opinion. But, the playwright feels that there is hope behind the dark clouds.
Despite day-to-day life being rigorous, people are humble.
Published: Monday, Nov 9, 2009, 23:59 IST
By Sujata Chakrabarti | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Playwright Lia Gladstone talks about the difficulties of doing theatre in Kabul. For an American woman earning her bread and butter in one of the most conflict-ridden zones in the world, Afghanistan can throw up a plethora of problems. For one, Lia Gladstone cannot ever walk on the road. Wherever she goes, a driver must always escort her in a well-covered car.
She has to face questions from her own group of male students at the university in Kabul about whether it is really right to allow women to participate in public gatherings. The badgering never ends.
Lia, who was in India to participate in the 8th International Women Playwrights Conference, insists that she prefers to remain unfazed by such incidents. The playwright narrates, “I was working in Alaska for the Legislature, till I decided to take up a teaching position in Kabul. Post 9/11, I had done a play about Afghan women that impressed the university and I got a job to teach academic and creative writing.” Among 20 students, Lia informs there were only two women.
But teaching Agatha Christie’s TheMousetrap was not enough. Soon Lia began working with a human rights organisation AHRDO to teach theatre to adults. “It’s been our effort to take theatre out to the community,” states the playwright. But involving women in theatre is a big challenge, she adds. Lia gives us something to ponder on — the playwright actually mentions a law signed by president Hamid Karzai that allows a man to have sex with his wife anytime he wants. “The only humans you see on the roads of Kabul are men. Even the women in my theatre group have to be behind closed doors by 8 pm.”
The disparity is so stark that in class, Lia says the women are too reluctant to voice their opinion. But, the playwright feels that there is hope behind the dark clouds.
Despite day-to-day life being rigorous, people are humble.