My Vagina Was My Village

From Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues"

By: Leila Radan
Submitted: 04/28/2008

The performance is my form of partaking in political theatre and in adding my voice to the collective cry of “NO MORE!” It is an effort in community outreach, in educating, inspiring, moving and touching all who see it with the hopes that they too will add their voices to our cause.

The Vagina Monologues play and V-day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls, are brilliant examples of the difference women make. By just putting on this play, V-day has raised $50 million in the past ten years. Countless women across countless nations have been mobilized and inspired and V-day's work. The change that has been created is astounding.

To perform this play, bashfulness needs to go out the door and the performers need to know and support the cause. I am one of the thousands upon thousands of women lending my voice, my heart, my soul, my body to the V-day cause by being a performer in the play, raising money, and adding my efforts to those of so many vagina warriors around the world. Never having met, we are still united across borders for the same cause and goal. We are women being vulnerable, women being strong, women shouting, women crying… and it all makes an impact.