Posted to the Web: Sunday, March 11, 2007
V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.
The campaign is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. The movement generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.
V-Day stages large-scale benefits and produces innovative gatherings, films and campaigns to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women. In Nigeria , benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, a play by renowned playwright, Eve Ensler will be staged in Lagos by top artistes including Nollywood divas –– Rita Dominic & Kate Henshaw. In her world famous play, Eve Ensler put together stories from a diverse group of women discussing their sexuality. KIND hopes to raise awareness of the long-term effects of violence against women and motivate the audience to take steps to stop this social menace. All proceeds from the events will be donated to a local organization –– Rape Crisis Centre, Lagos .In this interview with Allure. Founder of KIND, Hafsat Abiola-Costello talks about the second staging of Vaginal Monologes in Nigeria and more.
What exactly are the Vagina Monologues?
The Vagina Monologues are a series of monologues, the words of about 200 women from all around the world used to describe the violence, and in some cases, joy they’ve experienced as a result of their being women. Their words were recorded by Eve Ensler, an award winning playwright from the US and arranged into a play that is now performed around the world.
How old is the movement?
Nine years old. V-Day was born in 1998 as an outgrowth of Eve Ensler’s Obie-Award winning play, “The Vagina Monologues.” As Eve performed the piece in small towns and large cities all around the world, she saw and heard first hand the destructive personal, social, political and economic consequences violence against women has for many nations. Hundreds of women told her their stories of rape, incest, domestic battery and genital mutilation. It was clear that something widespread and dramatic needed to be done to stop the violence. A group of women in New York joined Eve and founded V-Day. It has since become a global movement. V-Day’s mission is simple. It demands that the violence must end. It proclaims Valentine’s Day as V-Day until the violence stops. When all women live in safety, no longer fearing violence or the threat of violence, then V-Day will be known as Victory over Violence Day.
Do you think it will catch on in Nigeria ?, and why?
I wasn’t sure if the movement would catch on in Nigeria until the performances last year. It was watched by over 3000 people, supported by individual philanthropists, government agencies, private sector and foundations, and raised N400,000 in cash and donated furniture for the shelter. The success of that production convinced me that the movement will catch on here because I saw that we had all that is needed to succeed, which is people who are ready to discuss the hard issues and to work together to end the violence that many women suffer in their homes and in communities. The V-Day campaign is simply a tool to support these people.
Why did you feel the need to bring Vagina Monologues to Nigeria for a second time?
Because of the slogan attached to the V-Day Campaign, which is ‘‘Until the violence stops.’’ It’s important to continue bringing projects that help us confront the violence that affects so many until we feel that the country is safe for women and girls.
Do you think the response this year will be better than last year?
Yes, I do. Last year was the first time most of the audience saw the show and most were bowled over by it. They will probably come again this year and come with their family and friends so we expect to be able to get even more people to see it.
Will you be working with the same cast?
Not quite. Some of the cast is the same but some people are new, including the Director so it’ll be a new interpretation of the play, making it interesting for those that have seen it before.
Will you be working with some new sponsors this year?
Yes. The list of sponsors is growing day by day but so far we have some of our old sponsors like Cordaid, Zed Mirage, and some new sponsors like Emzor Pharmaceuticals. Other sponsors are being lined up but I don’t want to announce them until everything is confirmed. It’s quite exciting because the partners we are getting are going to help us do so much more to help victims of violence. It’s a wonderful thing to see the project’s impact expanding.
How does this year’s theme “Reclaiming peace” relate to the Nigerian woman?
V-Day’s 2007 theme Reclaiming Peace makes the connection between public violence as seen during wars and private violence as seen in the home. In announcing the theme, V-Day Founder, Eve Ensler said “if a government supports the use of force, weapons, violence as a method of control and dominance, this models and gives licence to the same kind of behaviour at home.” In the last eight years, there have been several cases of violent conflict between diverse communities in various parts of the country, and in some instances, between Niger Delta communities and the army. Nigerian women in these situations of armed conflict are exposed to escalated military, sexual, and domestic violence, lack of security as a displaced person or refugee, and vulnerability to sex traffickers and coerced prostitution.
We often do not hear about what they endure but we must seek out the information. Recently, I came across the 1999 Human Rights Watch report which confirmed allegations that soldiers committed rape in Choba, a community in Rivers State during the campaign in Odi, Bayelsa State. We need to encourage our government and communities in conflict to look for more peaceful means of engagement. And we need to condemn the use of violence and try and bring national attention to the experiences of people in such situations so that those who perpetrate such acts of violence are made to answer for their actions. So ‘‘Reclaiming Peace’’ is about that –– about us taking responsibility for challenging the public forms of violence, which gives individuals the misconception that violence is an acceptable mode of engagement in the private sphere. It is not.
Did they motivate the return of the V- monologues?
Popular demand motivated the return of the V-monologues. People LOVED the play. I couldn’t believe the number of text messages I received during last year’s performances. People that saw the play told me that they laughed so much their sides hurt, they cried during some of the monologues and they just had a wonderful time. We don’t do enough cultural events in Nigeria that provoke new ideas and challenge entrenched positions. It’s good to offer this high quality production in service of people have something fun to do with their evenings that also goes to a good cause and makes them consider something new.
Is KIND getting any support, be it financial or otherwise, from the government?
No, we are not getting any support for this year’s production from the government. However, last year, the Lagos State government was immensely supportive, providing local transportation and funds that helped KIND take the production to Abuja. We are certainly open to going to more states than Lagos so if any government agencies want to make it happen, do get in touch!
Do the men in the society support this idea?
We haven’t had any man tell us that he does not support the idea of an end to violence against women and girls.
How do you intend to get men to buy into this campaign?
By getting them to attend the performance. We’re working to get companies to buy bulk tickets so that their male and female employees can attend the performance.
There are some women who are maltreated and battered, but would rather prefer to stay silent, what do you think can be done to make them speak out than suffer in silence?
We must stop promoting the idea that violence within the home is between the husband and wife. It is this idea that discourages many women from speaking out, because they should not be speaking about their ‘‘private’’ business. Violence is a crime and people that suffer from violence should be able to turn to members of their community for support, protection and recourse.
How do you intend to help women who have been battered and maltreated in the society?
We want to strengthen the support mechanisms available to them. We plan to donate proceeds from the performances to a clinic that offers medical care to young girls who have Vesico-Vaginal Fistula and to give money to a shelter for battered women in Lagos . Clearly, this is a start but much more is needed. We also hope that people that see the show begin to consider what they can do individually and collectively to promote a culture of peace and to support victims of violence.
Do you think there have been any positive changes in people’s attitude towards violence against women, since the last show?
I think there were positive changes for those that saw the show, and because of the comprehensive media blitz that was mounted before, during and after the show, there was also heightened awareness of the issue of violence against women as a public, not private, problem
What do you intend to achieve with the return of V-monologues?
A: More awareness, more money for support for victims of violence, more partners committed to working with KIND to promote a culture of nonviolence..
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How much was raised from last year’s project?
We raised N400, 000 in cash and N250, 000 worth of furniture.
What was it used for?
The money and furniture were donated to Sophie’s Place, a shelter for battered women and girls in Lagos.
This year, where will proceeds from the V-Day project go?
This year’s proceeds will go to Rape Crisis Centre in Lagos
KIND is known more for its democratic struggle, now it is V-Day. Could you explain the how the two causes are related?
Well KIND was born as a result of a woman, Kudi Abiola’s agitation for the June 12 democratic mandate won by her husband. Following the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, the organization decided to support the country’s transition by grooming a new generation of women leaders that would be involved in building a new Nigeria . This decision translated into various leadership training programmes, including our main one Kudra, which trains 1350 young women in universities across the country annually. From our engagement with young women, we hear about how they are affected by sexual harassment on campus, about how the threat of violence discourages them from actively seeking to participate in the public affairs of their communities. We realized that the threat of violence needs to be addressed if we want women to play their part in building a great Nigeria . And so we decided to join the V-Day Campaign, which is an effective global movement aimed at raising awareness of the issue of violence against women and helping to end the violence.
Is KIND planning for any project that would campaign against injustice to women, this year?
Well we just launched a project called 30 by 11, a campaign to ensure 30% women’s political representation by 2011. Last year, we defined the campaign strategy, secured early donors and key coalition partners. The campaign begins in earnest this year.
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