national theatre to show vagina monologues documentary

By Emmanuel Ssejjengo and Yasin Kironde (New Vision)

May 10, 2006: A documentary about the Vagina Monologues will be shown to the public at the National Theatre on Saturday as part of the 3rd Amakula Kampala International Film festival, a year after the play was banned.

Festival director Alice Smiths said the show aimed at raising debate on the theme of the festival, �Others� voices�.

�The documentary should give a higher pedestal to the women�s voices that are suppressed,� she said.

The documentary is about the worldwide reception of the play and its impact on viewers.

The festival, a ten-day celebration of film in Kampala, opened at the National Theatre on May 4.

The screening will precede a public debate on why the government banned the Vagina Monologues last year.

The play by the controversial African American playwright Eve Ensler was stopped from production by the media council for promoting homosexuality.
�The play promotes illegal, unnatural sexual acts, homosexuality and prostitution,� it said.

However, UWONET�s Sarah Mukasa opposed the ban, saying the play was intended to raise money for a campaign to stop violence against women and raise funds for the war-torn north.

Vagina Monologues is a series of 20 monologues told by different women about their sexual experiences.

The play, only banned in Uganda, has been produced in various countries including Kenya, United Kingdom, Netherlands and the US.