Help for the girl-child: making a difference through participatory theatre for development

Abstract

Theatre has been used as a tool for development in education, as communication tool, therapy, behavioural change medium as well as a participatory and exploratory tool in the process of human and societal development. The integration of participatory communication in theatre for development (TfD) targets communities in a bid to foster social change. Participatory communication, according to Freire, has become an established norm in the symbiotic marriage of theatre and development. This article critically analyses the issue of development and how theatre can be used as a powerful tool for effective communication in the process of development and social change. It further examined the role of participatory communication as a viable tool to investigate the safety of the girl-child. To achieve this, it uses direct observation and historical-analytic methods to evaluate the wellbeing and unequal treatment of the girl-child in Nigeria, using two communities, Obi-Olihe in Ika South-West Local Government Area of Delta State and Oguntula in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State as fulcra of analysis and discussion. These communities serve as case studies to examine and establish the import of participatory communication in the practice of theatre for development; where salient issues of girl-child mistreatment were raised and attended to for the benefit of improved lifestyle of the girl-child.