My Saturday evening adventure began with
shouting “vagina!” with hundreds of strangers.
shouting “vagina!” with hundreds of strangers.
I still have many months left in this country, but I’m sure that few things will be able to rival the experience of seeing “The Vagina Monologues” at an outdoor theater at the Lilongwe Wildlife Center. It was an event I will truly never forget.
The Vagina Monologues is a play created by Eve Ensler. She interviewed hundreds of women around the world about their experiences with two X chromosomes and created the play, which has been performed around the world. I saw the show a couple of times in Chapel Hill, which was a very special experience given the continuing struggles of women in the United States. Seeing the play in a country like Malawi, where women face so many additional challenges, however, is that much more meaningful. Women in Malawi are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic and face higher illiteracy rates than men.
Seeing this show was particularly important for me, as feminism has been a major part of my life for the past several years. Women’s issues were a particular focus of mine in college, and I’m now working on HIV research in Malawi, with a particular focus on female sex workers.
I’m glad I was able to hear about this production, as the show couldn’t even be publicized. The production company applied for it to be a public show, but it was rejected because of its content. Apparently, talking about a body part that half the population has is not appropriate for the general public. Hearing that at the beginning of the show made it that much more meaningful. Even more so than in the United States, women’s issues in Malawi need to be discussed widely and publicly.
During the opening speeches, one quote stood out to me:
Seeing this show was particularly important for me, as feminism has been a major part of my life for the past several years. Women’s issues were a particular focus of mine in college, and I’m now working on HIV research in Malawi, with a particular focus on female sex workers.
I’m glad I was able to hear about this production, as the show couldn’t even be publicized. The production company applied for it to be a public show, but it was rejected because of its content. Apparently, talking about a body part that half the population has is not appropriate for the general public. Hearing that at the beginning of the show made it that much more meaningful. Even more so than in the United States, women’s issues in Malawi need to be discussed widely and publicly.
During the opening speeches, one quote stood out to me:
“Language is the very first place where we define our identity."
The wide discomfort with using the word “vagina” is symbolic of much greater problems associated with the female identity. Having an unauthorized production of The Vagina Monologues isn’t going to vastly improve the situation for Malawian women, but each step towards breaking down barriers to open dialogues is important.
They asked audience members to come up on stage at the end for a photograph of all the “Vagina Warriors.” I proudly ran up to join the crowd.
They asked audience members to come up on stage at the end for a photograph of all the “Vagina Warriors.” I proudly ran up to join the crowd.