Unveiled

After a disastrous start of the week with my precious computer of four whole years falling off the desk and dying after suffering a concussion and then getting used to a new one, I’ve finally gotten the drive to write something…

This week I stumbled upon the amazing Rohina Malik, a Chicago based first generation Pakistani theatre artist at her one woman show: Unveiled, here in COA.

Yesterday, I rushed to the Gates center twenty minutes before the show to seize the front row seat. The excitement in my heart started escalating to see a person from a similar,yet so differnt origin. I realized that I have never been so eager to see another South Asian here in America, that too a Muslim woman, born and raised in the west.

Her performance was so influential that it is just hard to comprehend. She started off talking about the chai but the latter story revolved around these various characters depicting real people from the Muslim community and their struggle for commonality.  She told a few of the many heart wrenching stories about the Muslim mothers, wives, lovers, daughters and sisters that occurs everyday due to the stereotyping of the Muslim community, especially after the dark hours of 9/11.

Though Malik aimed her story at the general public to diminish the misconception of Islam and women under the veil, being a Hindu, the so called rival religion of Islam, I never though of our traditions and customs to coincide in so many basis- from the love of drinking milk tea- chai to some of the wedding traditions to the common names that we have. Moreover, I never knew that Islam connected with Christianity. So closely until she referred Mother Mary in Islam.

source: rizal tahir/ flickr

Malik admitted that the roles that she gets offered is of very limited flexibility due to her hijab but her skill of diving into the characters through theatre diminished all boundaries. I would have never imagined any other person doing what she’s been doing. If there had not been the veil, those characters would have never been able to have the oomph to push the audience a bit further.

 In a nutshell, I realized that the power of  Malik’s art of theater brought people from various religion with varying thoughts together in the same level. This at least give us a hope to grow to and end the biasness that has been spreading like a plague all around the world…. one day for sure.