Madeeha Gauhar

Madeeha Gauhar (born 1956 in Karachi) is a Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theatre, and women's rights activist. In 1983 she founded Ajoka Theater where social themes are staged in theatres, on the street and in public spaces. With Ajoka she has performed in Asia and Europe.

Gauhar was born in 1956 in Karachi. After she obtained a Master of Arts degree in English literature, she moved to England where she obtained another master's degree, in theater sciences at the University of London.

In 1983, after returning to Lahore, Gauhar and her husband Shahid Nadeem founded Ajoka Theater, the first theater group of significance there. Ajoka (English:Today) elaborates on the oral tradition of Bhand and Nautanki and found a flourishing base in the area that overlaps the province of Punjab. In spite of her Western education, Gauhar does not limit her practice to classical Western theater techniques. Instead, she mixes authentic Pakistani elements with contemporary sentiments. With Ajoka, Gauhar has performed in Pakistan and other countries in the region such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as in several countries in Europe.

The most important ulterior motive of the shows is the promotion of a just, humane, secular and equal society. In directing theater, the esthetical, moral, social and political reality of today's Pakistan are therefore repeating elements. Ever returning is the subject of women's rights in a society that is greatly dominated by men.

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