On April 4 at 7 p.m. Rick’s Café will host a production of the Vagina Monologues to raise funds for local and international women’s advocacy groups. The Vagina Monologues is the cornerstone of the V-Day movement. According to its website, V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery. Each year between Feb. 1 and April 30, participants hold performances and other related events around the globe to benefit rape crisis centers and similar resource centers for women. In 2011, over 5,800 V-Day benefit events took place by volunteer activists in the United States and around the world.
According to its website, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, V-Day commits ongoing support to build movements and anti-violence networks. Working with local organizations, V-Day provided hard-won funding that helped open the first shelters for women in Egypt and Iraq; sponsored annual workshops and three national campaigns in Afghanistan; convened the “Confronting Violence” conference of South Asian women leaders; and donated satellite phones to Afghan women to keep lines of communication open and action plans moving forward.
One of the most popular events related to V-Day, The Vagina Monologues is a series of monologues performed by women about everything from injustices against women to first menstrual cycles and childbirth.
This year, the famous collection of monologues will be directed and performed by Mississippi State University students and staff with the support of MSU’s Gender Studies Program and Department of Relationship Violence and Outreach. For the third time this year Melanie Walsh, graduate student in counselor education, will be directing the collection.
According to a press release, Walsh brings this production to Starkville again this year with hopes to raise awareness of women’s issues, raise funds for organizations dear to her heart and provide great entertainment.
“I’m so excited to bring this vital message to the Starkville and MSU communities again,” Walsh said. “The Vagina Monologues is an important production because it brings to life the actual words of women from various religions, age groups, races, cultural backgrounds and orientations. The production is filled with humor, rage, sadness and empowerment, which sends a message of strength and hope that should resonate with the audience.”
The cost of admission is $2 with donations greatly appreciated. Rick’s Café’s doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and all donations will benefit Safe Haven Battered Women’s Shelter in Columbus and V-Day international.