Ajoka Theatre

Ajoka’s mission is to work for a democratic and egalitarian society through arts-based initiatives. It is working to create young trained theatre activists, writers, media professionals and social activists, who can strengthen the forces of social change and progress. It is ready to fight gender and minority discrimination, environmental degradation, and promote cultural awareness and heritage preservation. It works in collaboration with like-minded cultural and human rights organisations for the cause of freedom of artistic and cultural expression.

The Ajoka Theatre was established in 1984, where the arts in general faced restrictions and had strict censorship policies. Ajoka Theatre hence, became one of the significant theatre groups, being established with an aim to promote socially meaningful dramas and performances that would highlight the struggle for a worldly, compassionate, unbiased society in Pakistan.

Ajoka’s performances blend customary forms of theatre with contemporary methodology, highlighting the adversities faced by society at large, especially about women’s rights in a society that is greatly dominated by men.

The group received the prestigious Prince Claus Award in 2006 and The International Theatre Pasta Award in 2007. In 2008, a selection of plays written by Shahid Nadeem was published by the Oxford University Press.