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Seven women. Seven countries. Countless lives saved.
SEVEN is a documentary play, a collaboration by seven award-winning female playwrights, telling the true stories of seven exceptional women from around the globe.
As young women, Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria and Mukhtar Mai of Pakistan each confronted tragedy and tremendous challenges to become fierce fighters for women's education and rights in their respective countries. Farida Azizi advocates for peace and works to empower rural women in Afghanistan. Former Guatemalan Congresswoman Anabella De Leon has devoted her life to giving voice to the poor. In Northern Ireland, Inez McCormack promoted peace and human rights, and became the first female president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Cambodian politician and human rights activist Mu Sochua dedicated herself to rescuing girls from human trafficking and fighting for democracy in Southeast Asia. Activist and author Marina Pisklakova-Parker established the first women's crisis center in Russia.
Except for Inez, who passed away in 2013, all of these women continue to champion human rights on the world stage. In fact, Marina will be on Maui next week for the observance of National Crime Victims' Rights Week. She will speak at the ceremony and candlelight vigil on Wednesday, from 5 to 6 p.m., at the Kalana O Maui County Building courtyard (200 S. High Street), presented by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney (DPA).
Also in commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the department is presenting a staged reading of SEVEN, which premiered in New York City on Martin Luther King Day in 2008. To date, it has been performed in 32 countries and in 22 of the 50 United States.
The Maui production is directed by Anita Ahuja, DPA Victim/Witness Program Director, who also plays Mukhtar in this presentation. Maui County First Lady Isabella Ka'ihi Bissen portrays Farida, Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Sally Tobin and Iwalani Mountcastle are Inez and Marina, Lindsey Dreyer of Child and Family Service plays Hafsat, Children's Justice Center's Jackie Cockett portrays Anabella, and I have the role of Mu.
Because this presentation is a reading and not a full stage production, we didn't have to memorize our lines or spend more than a few days rehearsing. However, our director, Anita, encouraged us to research the women we are portraying as well as the background of the play itself. So, down the rabbit hole I dove, emerging with a sense of awe and admiration, not just for Mu Sochua, but for all seven of the play's subjects.
SEVEN is based on personal interviews with these extraordinary women, all members of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network. Vital Voices was founded in 1999 by Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, and Melanne Verveer (former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues). It is a non-governmental, international nonprofit organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights.
About the play, Melanne said, "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."
Our reading will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the ProArts Playhouse in Kihei. It's being presented free of charge, no tickets or reservations needed. Seating is on a first come, first served basis, and space is limited, so please come early.
Though some parts are heart-wrenching and even horrific, SEVEN is ultimately an uplifting, inspirational experience. I'm sure my fellow cast members feel as I do, that it is truly an honor to share these riveting stories of these remarkable heroines. I hope you will do us the honor of coming to hear them.
* Kathy Collins is a radio personality (The Buzz 107.5 FM and KEWE 97.9 FM/1240 AM), storyteller, actress, emcee and freelance writer whose "Sharing Mana'o" column appears every other Wednesday. Her e-mail address is kcmaui913@gmail.com