CHAMPIONING WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Actress Mahabanoo Mody- Kotwal is all set to celebrate 16 years of The

Vagina Monologues. Having championed the cause of women’s empowerment for many years, she’s also celebrating the India chapter of the One Billion Rising movement, that was initially launched in 2013, initiated by Eve Ensler, the writer of The Vagina Monologues.

“We were very privileged to have Eve here in India to help us plan the Indian launch of the global movement,” says producer- director Kaizaad Kotwal, Mahabanoo’s son. According to him, the initiative has been in the works for a while, and it almost seems preordained for them to be associated with it.

One Billion Rising gets its

name from figures released by the UN and the WHO, according to which one in every three women experiences some form of physical or sexual abuse or assault in her lifetime. In India, the figure is closer to one in every two

women. “That is an astonishing statistic. This means that there are 1 billion or more women and girls on the planet right now who have been physically or sexually assaulted,” says Kaizaad.

Talking about the aim of One Billion Rising, he says, “The idea is to get the survivors of physical and sexual assault and their supporters to rise and reclaim the world from the clutches of this pandemic of violence.”

He and Mahabanoo plan to commemorate the movement every year to increase awareness and put an end to this war on women and their bodies. And they’re leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that their message reaches the masses. They’re visiting elite urban schools and colleges as well as and tenements to talk to women, and they’re also trying to get men to join the movement.

“If more men join us and understand that they have a huge stake in ending this war on women, then our work becomes easier and we reach our goals sooner,” Kaizaad confirms. With the movement ready to kick- start in India, Kaizaad and Mahabanoo already have several projects lined up to keep the momentum going.

On the occasion of the 16th anniversary of her critically acclaimed play, Mahabanoo’s made one small addition — a reading of ‘ Rising’ by veteran actress Ratna Pathak Shah. In the past, the Vagina

Monologues team has worked with several eminent personalities from the industry. Some collaborations that Kaizaad recalls fondly are with Jane Fonda, Marissa Tomei, Imran Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Loveleen Tandan, Longinus Fernandez, Naseeruddin Shah, Mansi Scott, Alankrita Srivastava and Saakshi Tanwar.

“We need many more men and women with visibility and a voice to join us as we chip away at the massive epidemic of violence against women,” he concludes.