Eve Ensler (born May 25, 1953) is an American playwright, feminist,
activist best known for her play The
Vagina Monologues. I was inspired last night on BBCs Hardtalk by writer and
feminist Eve Ensler who works against violence towards women. Certainly when I
listen to the news it is often about violence towards women ( just today in the
UK DJ Dave Lee Tarvis and Rolf Harris are both in court for charges of sexual
assaults on young women)
She says women need to break the silence - and that most
women keep quiet about their problems.
Violence towards women occurs in all countries worldwide - there is
still incest, bullying, sexual harassment in the developed world - 1 in 5 women
in UK are attacked, 1 in 3 in the US, 1 in 5 women on college compasses US are
attacked. Violence against women is what
maintains Patriarchy.
Her play The Vagina Monologues makes it OK for
women to speak out.
She heard women talk of these issues and stories that upset her. One older woman spoke of being assaulted as a
young girl and after this experience she never had sex. Eventually all the
women's stories were made into her play The
Vagina Monologues which is now performed world wide in 140 countries. She
said the storied are universal and that all women understand them. She claims that the violence perfumed by men
against women can lead to depression, suicides and eating disorders. She says women need to break the silence. She
said that the threat of violence and daily terror leads to a siege mentality
and that this existence of fear leads to depressions, destroys self esteem,
confidence and sense of worthiness.
Ensler stated that her feminism motivates her art and that
they drive each other. Eve was bullied
by her own father and she said often these men are spilt personalities
projecting one normal image to the outside world another violent one
indoors.
Writing was the one experience where she was able to make
sense of her environment and have a
persona that wasn't being drowned.
Of course we tend as women to blame ourselves - that is that
we are somehow the cause of these attacks by our own behaviour. I remember watching the movie Goodwill
Hunting when the therapist says to Will -
Its Not Your Fault, Its Not Your Fault over and over. I find it very hard not
to believe it is not somehow my fault.
Perhaps this book on art and words and music is about my
journey to make sense of it all. Music has been my escape route to a better
place. When I was very young I started to write poems and to draw.
We write to you one month before 14 February, the actual day we will rise and dance for Justice. But we all know One Billion Rising for Justice is clearly not just a day. It is a campaign, a strategy, a determination, a new energy. It is months of preparation, investigation, and collaboration. It is the careful, conscious work of building a coalition, inviting new activists, and acknowledging those who have been on the frontlines for years. It is envisioning and writing new laws and legislation. It is breaking the silence, releasing our stories, naming and identifying injustices, creating demands, organizing forums and panels and events, as well as writing songs and poems and plays, and making videos. It is identifying the places where we will rise. It is learning about our sisters’ struggles around the world and making them our own. It is bringing the most marginalized to the front. It is the grassroots leading the way. It is men joining and standing with us. It is acknowledging the places of intersection. It is a decision, a vision of the world where the bodies of women and the body of our mother earth are honored and cherished and safe and held sacred. It is trust. It is expanding our identities and wounds to include the others. It is a fierce refusal to undermine or attack or diminish, but to take the time to find the language to express our grievances and frustrations, with the belief that each one of us in this struggle is on a path of evolution and revolution, wounded, broken, and doing our best. It is a wild energy that says Yes. Freedom is possible. Unity is Possible. Everything is possible. It is a Rising – dissolving borders, edges, separations. It is love, an unstoppable wave of love and justice.
This year, on 14 February 2014 we are calling
on women and men everywhere to harness their power and imagination to rise for
justice. Imagine, One Billion women releasing their stories, dancing and
speaking out at the places where they need justice, where they need an end to
violence against women and girls. Join
us!
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