Giggles, confusion greet 'Vagina Monologues'

Giggles, confusion greet 'Vagina Monologues'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?"
"Kebaya (traditional Indonesian costume), miniskirt and weaved
batik."

That is the Indonesian translation of an excerpt from Eve
Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, which was performed on Friday
night in commemoration of International Women's Day.

The performance took place at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts
center in Central Jakarta before hundreds of people -- both men
and women.

There was a varied response from the audience to the
performance. Some were amused, some giggled or laughed bitterly,
while others looked confused.

The event celebrated the honored role of the vagina as the
means of reproduction, a function, however, that has shifted over
time to be seen as something indecent.

The word "vagina", just like "penis", is considered somewhat
taboo here. So rather than say "vagina", people usually use the
word "anu" (something unknown).

Therefore, the title of the monologue itself was considered
provocative, with the ability to make some people blush.

The performance of this Obie Award-winning piece was organized
by the Coalition of Indonesian Women, in coordination with
director Jajang C. Noer and several artists, including Ria
Irawan, Rima Melati, Eno Lerian, Ayu Azhari, Sarah Azhari, Devi
Permatasari, Cindy Fatika, Niniek L.Karim, Ratna Riantiarno and
well-known pianist Marusya Nainggolan.

Before closing the show, the chairwoman of the Coalition of
Indonesian Women, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, read an article of
the Indonesian Criminal Code which bans the utterance of "vulgar"
words in public.

"But I am sure you were not sexually aroused," she said, to
which the audience applauded.

She told The Jakarta Post that the V(agina)-Day mission was to
end violence against women. She said that when all women lived in
safety, no longer fearing violence or the threat of violence,
then V-Day would be known as Victory Over Violence Day.

The Vagina Monologues, which was first staged in 1997, has
played in 800 theaters around the world during the commemoration
of V-Day.

"This annual event or campaign is aimed at raising
consciousness about women's right to justice, and to raise money
to end rape, battery, incest, sexual slavery and other forms of
violence against women," Nursyahbani said.