This was a completely different world, as it was cosmopolitan because of the different lecturers at the university. This was due to the fact that I am both an outsider as a researcher, and an insider, being a Mosoto and being aware of some of the cultural practices that grew up.
Introduction
- Motivation for undertaking the study
- Objectives of the study
- Overview of the HIV/AIDS situation in Lesotho
- HIV/AIDS infection rates in Lesotho
- Reasons for Lesotho’s high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate
- Government response to HIV/AIDS
- Research questions
Although HIV/AIDS was identified in Lesotho in 1986, it is argued that the government of Lesotho was rather slow to respond to the pandemic (Lahann and Pefole, 2005:n/p). The history of the HIV/AIDS campaigns run by the government and NGOs helps to explain why new approaches are needed.
Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed)
- Critique of Freire’s pedagogy
In the problem statement methodology, the realities of the students are represented as problems with possible solutions. For people immersed in a culture of silence or in the reality of the oppressed, questioning is forbidden.
Epic Theatre (Bertolt Brecht)
The aim of the A-effect is to alienate the audience and separate them from the characters and story in order to focus on the arguments that occur in the play (Willet, 1964: 136). The fourth wall is a reference to the proscenium arch that separates the audience and the actors.
Theatre of the Oppressed (Augusto Boal)
- Image Theatre
- Forum Theatre
- Invisible Theatre
- Critique of Theatre of the Oppressed
The music was used to counteract the action of the piece, in that the text and the melody were contradictory to draw attention to the words: “the words, the music, the setting must become independent of each other (Willet . Stop!' The spectators then take on the role of the oppressed and try to overpower the oppressor.
Theatre for Development
- Theatre for Development in Lesotho
- The Marotholi Travelling Theatre
- The Facilitator
By using Theater for Development in the community, there must be social interaction throughout between the 'development agents', in this case theater performers, and the recipients of the development action, the community (Mda, 1993:56). In this method, the only way the community participated was through group discussions at the end of the play (Mda, 1993:66).
Women and Silence
The boy is brought up to see himself as the tough head of the household who. This conspiracy of silence denies the existence of a problem for the victim, as silence preserves the privilege of the human. As Miranda Young (1997:19) puts it, "a woman may or may not be physically silent, but it is the extent to which she is heard that characterizes the nature of silence."
An example is that most men believe that women do not have the right to say 'no' and when they do, their voices are not heard. It has thus laid a foundation for the study of the issue of silence among women in Lesotho.
- Theoretical description of the project
- Objective of the Malealea Theatre Project
- Project Site
- Implementing the project
- Phase one – creating a model play
- Phase two – the workshop
- Phase three – performing with the REFLECT circle members
- Synopsis of the play ‘Dance Me to the End of Love’
- The title of the play
- The pink fan and the red nose
- Scenes created by the REFLECT circle members of Malealea village
- Structure of Dance ‘Me to the End of Love’ Revised Version
- Challenges of the project
Through constant discussions, improvisations, construction and deconstruction of scenes, the show "Dance Me to the End of Love". At the beginning of the discussions, members of the REFLECT circle discussed the events and characters of the play "Dance Me to the End of Love". REFLECT circle members and WSI students marched from the lodge to the festival grounds in a procession led by 49 Basotho ponies.
What would you do?" The joker then points to the first image and beats a drum three times. The structure of the play, as performed on July 11, 2006 with WSI students and REFLECT circle members, was as follows:
- Research design
- Participatory Theatre as research method
- The three steps in the Malealea theatre project in Malealea
- Data collection
- Post-performance discussions
- Participant observation
- Focus groups and group interviews
- In-depth interviews
- Taking notes
- Analysis of Data
- Sampling
- Limitations of the study
The performance was followed by post-performance discussions led by one of the lecturers from NUK. The third and final step was another public performance of the performance 'Dance me to the end of love' Revised Version. I sat with the audience during both shows, the 6th and 11th.
These observations were used to refine some of the data based on the findings. One of the limitations of a qualitative study is that the findings cannot be generalized to the wider population (Silverman, 2005:27).
Findings on form
- The play - Dance Me to the End of Love
- The use of English in the play
- Facilitation and post-performance discussions
- The workshop
- Participation
- The space, time and seating arrangements
- Songs, dances and poetry
In response to the above remark, an elderly woman replied that the play was not about. Another discovery was that people liked the play because it was stylistically different from other plays they have seen. Thus, through facilitation, the audience realized that they are the important thing in the play.
The community was more likely to be empowered because they owned the space in a sense. In Malealea, the audience sat on the grass in a semi-circle, and the action took place in the center.
Findings on content – Silence and HIV/AIDS
- Silence in the family
- Silence in relationships
- Layers of silence: rape and domestic violence
- A safe space
- Abstain, Condomise and Be faithful (ABC)
- Tourism and Alcohol
- Sex work
The lack of communication in families was shown in one of the interviews, when the respondent stated that there is no communication between her and her mother, especially when it comes to sex or HIV/AIDS. When asked if they knew someone who had been physically abused, most respondents said they did, but all said they did not intervene. They have stated that they respect their wives too much because of certain sexual styles that they would like to experiment with.
Alcohol abuse came up very often in discussions and one of the scenes created in Maleale dealt with this issue. In the Workshop discussions, most people were of the opinion that sex work is becoming a big problem.
What does the culture of silence mean?
The culture of silence means that parents or families are aware that their children sometimes engage in sexual activities in exchange for money or, in the case of students, in exchange for grades that they do not deserve from their teachers. In the event that the child receives money, the family ultimately benefits, so they remain silent and pretend not to see what is happening. Sometimes silence is observed in the family, where the child is the breadwinner and does what he/she wants, knowing that he/she/
The culture of silence can also be observed in the way language is used or in the choice of words used. In the case of domestic violence, the woman remains silent because it is a woman's duty to please her husband and respect him.
The culture of silence and its consequences
Therefore, the culture of silence means that people do not speak about issues that affect them and those who speak are not heard, which again translates into silence. For them HIV/AIDS exists, but it is not something urgent; what is important is to make money. At the conclusion of the findings it is evident that the Basotho are not a nation that is used to speaking openly and explicitly saying what they want to say - especially among women.
What the findings show is that there is a great need for dialogue in the Basotho tradition to break the culture of silence. It is therefore important that what children learn at school is reinforced in families and vice versa, so that these values are not seen as strange by children.
Can PPT be used as a tool to address important issues?
Therefore, it is important that dialogue is brought into the Basotho culture, not only at home but also at school, so that parents and teachers can engage with the students and stop trying to provide answers to questions that are not asked, because they are afraid that their questions do not match the answers they have. For example, it is believed that parents cannot talk to their children about sex because their parents have not talked about it with them. Similar logic is evident in the argument that if your husband hits you, you can't do anything because it's meant to be.
Therefore, in order not to waste time and go back and forth, it is important that people tell their problems and that should be the starting point. For example, the show 'Dance Me Till Love Ends' was only used as a starting point for people to think about and see what they could change.
Popular Participatory Theatre as a research method
The problem with using PPT as a research method thus lies in the difficult situation between getting as much information as possible from the participants and producing a good output. The other shortcoming of PPT in this project is that because the participants had no training on how to act, they worried too much about their acting to the extent that they were no longer interested in the discussions and just wanted to focus on the play. . In Malealea, one of the participants asked after the discussions if they would have time to practice, as she believed that too much time was wasted with the discussions.
However, to prevent monotony, popular forms must be used as they are the ones society can relate to because they understand them. In order to participate in Forum Theater, especially where sensitive topics are discussed, there must therefore be a certain degree of trust among the participants.
Imparting Drama skills
This dissertation aimed to explore issues of silence and HIV/AIDS in Lesotho through PPT. By conducting this study, I was able to ascertain both information about the causes of the spread of HIV/AIDS and the effectiveness of PPT as a research method and as a tool to solve problems with HIV/AIDS. A three-year rolling plan for the national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho.
Turning a crisis into an opportunity: strategies for scaling up the national response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Lesotho. Problem-solving theater: A case study of using participatory theater to explore HIV/AIDS issues in the workplace.
