SEVEN is groundbreaking work of documentary theatre that captures the important work and remarkable lives of a diverse and courageous group of women leaders around the world.A collaboration by award-winning playwrights - Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz - the play is based on personal interviews with seven women who have triumphed over enormous obstacles in order to bring about major changes in their home countries of Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Cambodia. The lives of these women provide a portal through which audiences will be able to experience a diversity of cultures while bearing witness to the varied ways in which individual women have overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles to justice and freedom.
When:
Monday, January 21, 2008, 8:00 pm
Where:
92nd Street Y
Kaufmann Concert Hall
Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
Tickets Cost:
$18.00 / $10.00 Age 35 and Under
Box Office:
212.415.5500
TICKETS MAY ALSO BE PURCHASED ONLINE AT www.92y.org
About the Seven Women
* Inez McCormack, Northern Ireland: a dynamic civil rights leader who played a major role in the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accords. She has led organizations devoted to fair trade and fair labor practices. Inez was the first woman President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Her humanitarian work has concentrated on the twin concerns of economic development and peace.
* Mukhtar Mai, Pakistan: gang raped by four men and forced to walk home almost naked in retribution for an alleged 'honor crime,' this harrowing story grabbed headlines across the world. Rather than commit suicide, Mukhtar decided to bring her rapists to justice and improve the condition of women by building schools and becoming an ardent advocate for education in her country.
* Annabella De Leon, Guatemala: raised herself and her family out of poverty by educating herself. She has been a Congresswoman since 1995. Despite death threats (she has 6 bodyguards appointed by Human Rights Watch), she is a fearless fighter against corruption and for the rights of the poor, particularly women and indigenous people.
* Mu Sochua, Cambodia: the former Minister of Women's Affairs in Cambodia, she was co-nominated in 2005 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work surrounding sex trafficking in Cambodia.
* Marina Pisklakova-Parker, Russia: founded ANNA, the first organization in Russia to provide crisis and counseling services for women affected by domestic violence. She is working to engage her government and embassies around the world in educating potential trafficking victims.
* Farida Azizi, Afghanistan: a founding member of Afghan Women's Network and the Corporation for Peace and Unity, she has gained asylum and now lives in the United States with her two children and works on women's rights and peace-building in Afghanistan.
* Hafsat Abiola, Nigeria: from a family of courageous fighters for freedom and justice, founded and directs KIND (Kudirat Initiative for Democracy), an NGO that aids women in their attempts to advance democracy in Africa and has created skills-training opportunities for young women across Nigeria.
For more information about Vital Voices, please visit their website:
www.vitalvoices.org
Headquarters
1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 620
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202.861.2625 Fax: 202.861.4290
New York Office
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New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212.992.9110 Fax: 212.995.3649
