Breaking the gender stereotype

Men are strictly banned at Femapalooza, a comedy show for Indian women where the punchlines range from breasts and bras to equal pay and censorship. They are not allowed to attend, perform, or even check tickets at the most recent show at a New Delhi club.

For Femapalooza founder Jeeya Sethi, humour just for women is a way to make progress in deeply patriarchal India, where rape and gender bias are hot-button issues and women are widely expected to adhere to conservative stereotypes. “Men only talk about men, (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and masturbation, or they make sexist jokes,” said Sethi, a stand-up comic herself.

Femapalooza has organised more than 35 shows in different cities over the past three years, providing what Sethi calls a safe and friendly environment for women comics. “Stand-up is all about being unabashed. When there are women around you can say anything at all and not be judged,” she said. Rights activists have campaigned for years for greater access to public and performing spaces for women in India -- and their safety, given the record of violence against women in the vast South Asian nation. Some have emerged in recent years, with similar comedy events held in Mumbai and Bangalore. Women-only shows such as “Leddis Night” by online magazine Ladies Finger and “Disgust Me” by stand-up comedian Sumukhi Suresh have been widely acclaimed.

At Femapalooza’s New Delhi show, 13 comedians, aged between 17 and 37, tried out their jokes on an audience of around 30 women in an intimate, dimly lit room. Some appeared nervous, but the crowd revelled in every woman-friendly gag. Priya Elias vented her frustration with thongs. “Women don’t enjoy wearing thongs... I am pretty sure a man invented them,” the former lawyer joked. She told AFP that her content is received much more warmly by all-women audiences. “The energy in the room is different,” she said. “Women are always told they are not funny and that is not true at all.”