Thursday, February 17, 2005

Vagina Monologues in Uganda - Part VII

What I like about Uganda is (among others) that usually nothing is final... the controversial discussion and the censorship of the play "Vagina Monologues" is ongoing. The second citation from The New Vision reports on it.

The first cited article highlights the importance of the need to sensitise the Ugandan poeple of the physical and mental pain, which a lot of girls and young women experience by rapes, defilements and all other horrible things.

Every other day I come across an artical which deals with defilements. In Germany, you would just read about it once or twice a year, but in a lot of African communities it is still a common practise - a terribly cruel practise indeed.



"Defilement rises in Kumi district

KUMI police last year registered 127 defilement cases, indicating an increase of 27 compared to 2003. A report compiled by the police family welfare department said 500 crimes were registered. The district welfare officer, Florence Adong, who presented a report on gender-based violence in schools during a dialogue at Green Top hotel in Kumi recently, said an average of eight girls in the district had been defiled monthly. She added that in a period of two years 227 girls had been defiled. She said 40 people had been charged for defilement in 2003, registering an 8% increase. The acting country representative for Action Aid International, Christine Achieng, told participants that gender-based violence in schools had partly contributed to the high dropout rate of girls countrywide. According to a study initiated by Action Aid International-Uganda and carried out in the districts of Bundibugyo, Apac, Kyenjojo, Pallisa and Kampala, 84% of the girls had experienced some kind of physical or sexual violence. The data revealed that different forms of violence affected children and their performance in school. “In a school setting, girls suffer from sexual and psychological violence more than the boys,” the Action Aid report on Uganda read. Ends"

By Richard Otim
Published on: Thursday, 17th February, 2005
SOURCE: http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=17&newsId=418553



"Vagina Monologues rejects Media Council terms

THE Media Council yesterday set a stiff condition for the organisers of The Vagina Monologues, demanding that some parts be struck from the script before it goes on stage. The council said in a ruling that alongside issues of violence and abuse of women, the play “prominently promotes and glorifies acts of unnatural sex, masturbation, lesbianism or homosexuality.” “To the extent that the play promotes illegal, unnatural sexual acts, homosexuality and prostitution, it should be and is hereby banned. This will not be the case if the organisers expunge all the offending parts to the satisfaction of the council,” the ruling said. It said the play offends and corrupts public morals and should be restricted to adults. “They must inform the public that the play contains scenes and language of a graphic nature that may be offensive to sections of the public. The organisers should make prominent advertisements in the media, on the tickets as well as the venue that there are age restrictions,” it said. The play, which was to be at Ndere Centre in Kampala on Saturday, became the first to receive a blow from the Media Council in many years. However, sources said the organisers said on Tuesday that “the title, content, as well as the dates on which the play is to be staged are non-negotiable.” “The Council was informed by the organisers that the title could not be changed due to restrictions of intellectual property rights dictated by the author of the play, Eve Ensler,” the sources said. “The council finds that the play addresses several cases of violence against women. It describes unimaginable and unacceptable forms of mutilation, violence and pain suffered across the world. The council is unequivocal on the urgent need to address these cases with a view to stop the inhumane, degrading, abusive and cruel treatment of women,” it said. Ethics and integrity state minister Tim Lwanga yesterday told Parliament, “The Vagina Monologues is not going to be shown.” Council chief Fr. John Mary Waliggo said yesterday that the fate of the play lay with the council. Kefa Ssempangi (Ntenjeru South), who raised the issue in the house, said “The Play is obscene and pornographic although it was under the guise of women liberation.” He called for an injunction. By press time, the organisers were still locked in a meeting, plotting their next move. Meanwhile, Steven Candia reports that churches and civil society organisations yesterday backed the council to block the play. Eighteen church leaders and the Coalition for Morality, Ethics and Integrity-Uganda petitioned the Presidency to stop the play, which they said touched on morals. They said the play was a smokescreen for graphic lesbian pornography and it demeaned women. They said the play was viciously anti-male and it was obscene. They said the title of the play was likely to “open a can of worms” and it reduced women to their sexual organs. The Church of Uganda, Seventh Day Adventist, the Orthodox Church and Kampala Pentecostal Church signed the memorandum. They accused the author of being “obsessed and fixated with the female sexual organ to the extent that the word “vagina” is repeated more than 100 times in the play.” They said the play contains graphic descriptions of masturbation, rape, and genital mutilation in manner that is “abhorrent, outrageous and disgusting.” Ends"

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
Published on: Thursday, 17th February, 2005
SOURCE: http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=12&newsId=418630


And a Christian letter to The New Vision:


GUEST WRITER

"The V. Monologues has certainly stirred up controversy and I wish to add my voice to the debate. I salute Robby Muhumuza for his well-researched contribution to this debate. However, I find Robert Kabushenga’s question “What is wrong with V*****s?” disturbing. I also wonder how Miss Lilliane Barenzi can have no problem concerning a play that glorifies the V***** (Sunday Vision, Feb 13. My argument, which is unashamedly Christian, is as follows (I assume Kabushenga and Barenzi are “Christians!”). God created us sexual beings with our respective sex organs. He looked at everything He made as a Master Artist and said, “Very good!” (Gen 1:31). Yet God is certainly saddened when we misuse or glorify particular parts of our body (such as the private part) and worship it as a god. I believe only God should be worshipped. So worshipping any other person or object as the VM’s a hidden agenda seems to be, is unacceptable to God (Exodus 20:1, 2). The Christian view is that the human body is one, but has many members. Some of these members are presentable in public while others are not. These are “private parts”. As such, “We carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while the parts that may be seen do not require this special care.” (1Cor 12:23, 24 LB). The text guide us on what we see. It does not mention private parts by name. Paul mentions the head, hand, foot, eye and ear, but not private parts. Such should also be our approach. The guiding word seems to be “modesty”1Cor 12:23 NKJV. That is also the case in many societies where euphemisms are employed when talking about such delicate matters like private parts. There is a place for proper sex education for our children and for those preparing for marriage. In such cases, private parts may be referred to in a non vulgar way. Chanting the name of a private (as the author of the V. Monologues does), does not ring proper sex education tone. With due respect to the cause of abused women in our society, I find no justification for these dubious monologues. I would hesitate to subject an audience inquisitive to know more about private parts to such a play. This is because the author is unchristian (and unAfrican) in her morality as a lesbian. I want to ask whether we want another lesbian/homosexual impartation to our society. We have enough of it to be busy fighting it! I wonder if Kabushenga and Barenzi would be happy taking their children and elderly parents to watch such a the play; and also to explain it to them, including the special lesbian background of the author. In the global village, we need to understand what is permissible for our moral, mental and physical health. Not all things from the west are not gold. This play and the spirit behind it falls in that category."

THE WRITER: Rev Stephen Achilla
The writer is the principal reformed theological College, Kampala
Published on: Thursday, 17th February, 2005
SOURCE: http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=459&newsId=418532

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