‘The 9 parts of Desire’ : My reflections

I was lucky enough to watch the play ‘9 parts of desire’, acted by Ira Dubey and directed by Lillete Dubey at Rangashankara, Bangalore on the 16th of December. It was a solo performance centered around the tragic lives of 9 Iraqi women during the Gulf War. Each of these 9 characters, influenced by their own life stories , had different takes on human or women rights, . Ira played all the 9 characters, a liberated artist, an ageing communist, a bombing victim, a teenage girl, etc.  I sat in the second row, watching her move from one character to another, embodying each one meticulously portraying their respective nuances with almost no breaks in between . These women faced adversity beyond our imagination, which touched me deeply bringing tears to my eyes. From fluently speaking in American, British and a variety of distinct Arabic accents to skilfully and convincingly bringing the characters to life, Ira Dubey played these roles to perfection. 

In contrast to the rest of the characters, Layla is a self infatuated painter who blatantly admits to have been favoured by the regime. She was  given the prestigious post of the curator of Saddam Hussein’s art centre in exchange of  her body which she allowed to be raped time and again. She recognized that she was being exploited but unfortunately she accepted it because she realized that this was the only way to survive in that horrifying regime. This character is juxtaposed with the other rebellious women or those who have suffered from not aligning with the gender roles during this time. It highlighted the distressing consequences of women who suffered either because they voiced their opinion against the regime or because they sided with the regime as they had to accept the unfair gender disparity in a patriarchal society . 

When Ira played the role of a naive teenage girl, who lost her dad during the dreadful years, it touched my heart. Being a curious, young girl almost unaware of the realities outside, she truthfully shared her dad’s views against Saddam that ultimately resulted in the police arresting and killing her dad. Years later, she finds her dad’s diary which said in this context, “I should have taught her to lie.” Being a teenager myself, it pained me to see what she went through when she read it. I questioned myself, what values should we imbibe? Are we living in a world where I am free to say what I believe is true? 

Another character that resonated with me was a young girl of 20, living in the US with her family in Iraq, who was listening to the horrifying experiences of the Iraqi women in the news. She looks around and finds that no one seems to care about the plight of these people and life just goes on. It made me reflect on my journey in life. Am I or are we truly concerned with what is happening around? The citizens of Ukraine has been defending a Russian invasion for the past  10 months losing their loved ones with no safety of their own lives. Has it really mattered to us except paying higher prices to procure our daily needs or wants?  

While it makes me feel lucky and blessed to be alive in an environment where I am free to make my own choices, I am concerned that many others were deprived of this basic human right. Are these stories of  9 characters specific and unique to those who lived in Iraq during the Gulf war or are these the stories of many others still living in different parts of the world? For instance, in Afganistan, after the Taliban attack more than a year ago, human rights violations against women and girls have increased rapidly. They have been denied access to their education, their healthcare, their livelihoods, their rights, their independence and and have been regularly discriminated against. One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner! Are we all really doing enough to liberate, empower and free these women? I don’t think so.