The Institute for Women’s for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, the Outreach and Civic Engagement Unit, and the Office of the Dean of Students at the Lebanese American University in partnership with KAFA: Enough Violence and Exploitation organized a Forum Theatre Performance on December 9, 2011. The event was part of the many activities taking place in Lebanon within the frame of the 16 days of activism against violence against women which is an international campaign that has been going on since 1991.

The Forum Theatre Performance was presented by Live Lactic Culture - Laban and addressed the issue of domestic violence. A true story unfolded on stage where three phases in a family’s life were enacted. The first scene portrayed the first years in the married couple’s life where everything was rosy. The second scene highlighted the tension in the couple’s relationship where the wife is the passive victim trying to cope with an aggressive husband. The third scene exposed the violence that has escalated after the passage of time and the dominance of a depressive and violent atmosphere. The audience was then asked to change the way the story unfolds by acting out the role of the wife and changing the way she dealt with the aggression. Several students took the stage and recreated the story and the attempts were very successful.

The event was attended by the LAU community which included students, faculty, and staff as well as civil society activists and women NGOS.