Thousands of visitors, who thronged the traditional and colourful annual Jaganathpur rath yatra mela, Ranchi, from 8 to 17 July 2005, were greeted with a unique stall. Amidst the dizzy giant wheels, the flute and bangle sellers, and hawkers of an extravagant variety of food items, was a stall with a difference.

Set up by the members of the ‘We Can’ alliance, it was choc a bloc with posters, banners and leaflets on the issue of violence against women. Visitors who thronged the stall for nine days from across the state were invited to sit down and interact with the alliance members who used the specially designed posters from the Change Makers kit to raise awareness on the different forms of violence. Their message: Change is possible. Change is needed. Together we can end all violence against women.

Participants were urged to bind themselves to change by taking a pledge not to commit violence and to talk to ten others to similarly change their attitudes and practice. The ones who agreed were given kits. They recorded their impressions in postcards and participated in a charged, interactive play that talked about violence against women and its negative repercussions on family life.

The young ‘We Can’ team recruited 2,900 such Change Makers who have made a commitment to disseminate the campaign message further and influence more people in the community to end gender abuse.

For the team this is just a beginning, they are already planning ways in which they can spread their belief in change. Sharing their source of conviction, Shanti, an actor in the play, observed, “My mother asked me to return home but I know I am treading the path that not all have the courage to walk. I am determined.”

Kanho Soren, another actor, added, “Of course I am a good actor – my father is an abusive alcoholic and no one knows better than me what they can do. Playing the role of an alcoholic well is the only way I can tell other people of such dangers and try to prevent them.”

Ram Kison, a singer in the ‘We Can’ theatre group in Ranchi, placed his group’s work in the context of Jharkhand: “The gunmen (militants) and we want change in our society. The gunman has his guns, and we have our music. People are scared of guns, but they enjoy our performances. Our messages stay back in the hearts of people.”