Games of change

In Odisha's Sundargarh district, tribal women use games to learn their rights, and confront harassment

- DAKSHIANI PALICHA

BINGO! IN a small room in Odisha’s Peruabhadi village, the word bounces off the walls. A group of 20-30 women sits inside, fully engaged in the game—not the classic kind, in which they must match numbers called out to 5x5 cards. Rather they react to scenarios they have faced: being harassed in a bus, insulted at work, or taunted at home. Grim as it sounds, the game sparks conversations about how common these experiences are and how women might respond.

In 23 villages across Subdega block, in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district, such games are now played often in in women-led community centres that have sprung over the past year.