Using “education and popular culture to promote
public awareness and dialogue about human rights and social justice,”
Breakthrough is an international nonprofit organization striving to
reach an audience wider than the relatively small number of people already
concerned about human rights issues. However driven and devoted human
rights defenders may be, the struggle is too great. We are working hard
indeed, but the mainstream is simply not catching on—until, hopefully,
now.
Breakthrough lives up to its motto of “building human rights culture”
using four principal means: partnering mass media with the creative
world to produce music, art, and television; an interactive website,
which is an educational forum complete with ideas for ways people can
act; discussions and workshops involving communities around the world;
and multimedia educational materials.
Breakthrough has offices in New York and India, but is spreading its
message everywhere in between. They have a presence at various international
film festivals, on MTV, and in classrooms around the world. They undertake
projects that address various interrelated human rights issues. The
CD Mann ke Manjeere: an Album of Women’s Dreams was produced in
the spirit of transforming attitudes towards women and features, among
others, India’s renowned contemporary artist Shubha Mudgal. Mudgal’s
accompanying music videos have topped the charts on MTV in India, and
in doing so have encouraged discussion in the mainstream of barriers
that women face, like access to public space, non-traditional occupations,
and violence. The music on the album is bursting with energy and is
quite catchy, and (unlike many of its pop counterparts) has lyrics that
contain profound and important social messages.
Try “Babul” or “Father” for example, about arranged
marriage and spousal abuse. A young girl walks through a wedding party
looking up at the adults as their dark private moments appear on the
screen—women being beaten by their husbands. “Father, my
heart is afraid, but I must speak to you,” Mudgal sings. “Father,
I beseech you, don’t marry me off to a trader, money has never
made me happy.” But the song ends with a positive twist: “Father,
I beseech you, marry me off to an ironsmith who will melt my chains.”
Then there’s the title track, “Mann ke Manjeere” or
“Rhythms of the Mind,” in which Mudgal drives a bus around
the Indian countryside, picking up women who have been abused and oppressed.
“My mind has begun to play its own rhythm today. My feet, once
stilled, are dancing today,” she sings as women climb aboard.
“I have begun to believe in myself.”
The other three issues currently in the Breakthrough spotlight are Encouraging
Peace and Religious Harmony; Promoting Racial, Ethnic and Caste Equality;
and Enhancing Sexual Wellbeing and Health, an initiative to reduce women’s
vulnerability to HIV infection.
Other recent Breakthrough projects include: two Hindi songs by Gaurav
Mazumdar about environmental and other problems in India; and “Bringing
Durban Home: Combating Racism Together”—a video, inspired
by the World Conference Against Racism and narrated by Alice Walker,
that addresses caste discrimination, trafficking in women, reparations,
and issues faced by indigenous communities, migrants and refugees.
Breakthrough has CDs and videos for sale. Visit their website, www.breakthrough.tv,
to learn more about the organization, their latest projects, or to make
a very worthwhile purchase.
