The Office of Student and Community Affairs in collaboration with the Art Factory, a student-run club, organized the first ever Vagina Monologues at Ashesi. The Vagina Monologues is an award-winning play by Eva Ensler, that employs humour and grace to highlight the importance of women’s sexuality and strength. The play has since been re-staged multiple times in different settings and communities around the world, to challenge people to embrace and be mindful of their sexuality and sexual health. The monologues are usually staged in the form of a sketch that involves women personifying their sexuality in an educative and yet provocatively entertaining way.
The Vagina Monologues is part of a series of recent events the Office of Students and Community Affairs has organized to promote sexual health and healthy relationships among students. “We have realized over the years how inadequately informed students, especially women, are about their sexuality and sexual health,” said Salome Okoh, Associate Dean of Student and Community Affairs. “So we had been thinking of doing something impactful, besides our regular seminars, that present a great opportunity to both entertain and educate the community.”
The monologues were performed by members of the Art Factory and some members of the community. They highlighted issues of sexual abuse, rape, homosexuality, female genital mutilation and other experiences women may naturally encounter about their sexuality but rarely have the courage talk about.
"I was pretty shocked by the turnout, considering how provocative the issues being discussed were, and how these stories are treated as taboo in our society," said Melton fellow, Beryl Akuffo-Kwapong '18, who performed one of the monologues. “I really do hope people grasped the main point of the entire show, which was really telling stories about the daily experiences women face concerning their sexuality and how sexual abuse needs to be fought collectively and head-on."
In line with the theme, the Peer Educator’s Club in partnership with the Ashesi Health Service will organize the Sex Health Series on December 1st. Invited guests include Agnes Ntow (Host of Room Service on Y 107.9 FM) and Nurse Irie (Host of the Ask Nurse Irie Show). Both speakers will address sexual and reproductive health issues with students. See the Ashesi calendar for details of the event.