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Yoni Ki Baat

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Yoni Ki Baat
CompanySouth Asian Sisters
Date of premiere2003
LocationSan Francisco Bay Area

Yoni Ki Baat (roughly translated from Hindi as "Conversations about the Vagina", and sometimes abbreviated YKB[1]) is a project featuring the live performance of monologues by women of South Asian origin,[2] loosely inspired by Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.[3][4] Pieces can be performed by the writer, or by another performer, sometimes anonymously.[1] Since its launch, YKB has been continuously performed across the United States.[5]

Yoni Ki Baat was developed in 2003 by South Asian Sisters, a non-profit collective of South Asian women based in the San Francisco Bay Area.[6] The co-founders, Maulie Dass, Sapna Shahani and Vandana Makker, sent out a call in February 2003, and described receiving an outpouring of submissions.[6][7][8] The first public performances in July 2003 at UC Berkeley included monologues dealing with abuse, menstruation, masturbation, orgasms, marriage, religion and political protest.[1][3][5][6][9]

According to Makker:[7]

Yoni Ki Baat allows individuals who identify as women of South Asian ancestry the space to share their stories around issues that are often 'taboo' (and therefore not discussed) in our communities. Stories around sex, body image, abuse, violence. Stories around sex, body image, abuse, violence, pleasure, hair, relationships, bodily functions, strong emotions—pleasure, hair, relationships, bodily functions, strong emotions—those things we often can't even admit to ourselves. These are the stories that we seek out and then perform on stage. Sometimes the writers perform their own pieces and sometimes we have other women perform them. In the spirit of The Vagina Monologues, a portion of the proceeds from each show are donated to organizations that support survivors of domestic violence.[7]

Yoni Ki Baat performances and spinoffs have been performed in various parts of the United States by campus organizations and local South Asian organizations, sometimes borrowing scripts from South Asian Sisters, holding calls for submissions, or a combination of the two. The majority of proceeds are donated to organizations supporting survivors of domestic violence in the South Asian community.[3] In addition to South Asian Sisters' regular performances in the San Francisco Bay Area, YKB has been staged in New York City,[citation needed] Los Angeles,[10] Seattle,[11] Chicago,[12] Madison,[13] Cambridge,[14] Ann Arbor,[15] Worcester,[16] Grinnell,[17] Palo Alto[18] and Boston.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Makker, Vandana (May 29, 2004). "If My Vagina Could Speak ..." SAMAR.
  2. ^ "Tickets On sale for YKB 2015 - SF Bay Area!". South Asian Sisters. Retrieved March 6, 2016.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b c "Our Vaginas Have Monolugues, Too: Breaking the Silence, One Yoni at a Time". Sapna Magazine. June 10, 2005. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Bharat, Omsri (2015). "Yoni Ki Baat: South Asian Queer and Feminist Organizing". FoundSF. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Garlough, Christine (February 21, 2013). Desi Divas: Political Activism in South Asian American Cultural Performances (1st ed.). Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 146–180. ISBN 978-1-61703-732-0.
  6. ^ a b c Makker, Vandana (July 23, 2017). "South Asian Women in America Talk Sex, Break Myths". Boloji. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Luhar, Monica (March 17, 2014). "'Yoni Ki Baat': A 'Vagina Monologues'-Inspired Celebration of South Asian Women". The Aerogram. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Assisi, Francis C. (January 2, 2007). "'Yoni Ki Baat' Spotlights Desi Diaspora Women's Sexuality". IndoLink. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Chatterjee, Sandra Babli (2005). "Yoni Ki Baat: Look Who's Talking Too". Undomesticated bodies: South Asian women perform the impossible. University of California, Los Angeles. pp. 233–292. ISBN 978-0-542-56486-4.
  10. ^ Dongre, Archana (April 13, 2007). "'Yoni Ki Baat': A Bold Approach to a Sensitive Topic". India-West. pp. A14 – via Proquest.
  11. ^ Shringarpure, Gauri (March 16, 2017). "Yoni Ki Baat: Where skeptics learn to trust". The Seattle Globalist. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  12. ^ "Yoni Ki Baat - 2018". Sulekha. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ^ "Yoni Ki Baat". Wisconcin Union. Retrieved September 4, 2018.[dead link‍]
    - Salinger, Laura (May 2011). "Yoni Ki Baat and the woman who brought it to Madison". Asian Wisconzine. VII (5). Retrieved November 4, 2020.
    - "Yoni Ki Baat: Women at the Crossroads". The Capital City Hues. Retrieved April 17, 2021.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "South Asian Sisters Bring Yoni Ki Baat to Harvard". The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute. April 12, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  15. ^ "Yoni Ki Baat". Maize Pages. University of Michigan. Retrieved September 4, 2018.[dead link‍]
  16. ^ Bilimoria, Drashhti. "Yoni Ki Baat: South Asian Vagina Monologues". The Scarlet. Retrieved September 4, 2018.[dead link‍]
  17. ^ Bohlke, Lily (October 27, 2017). "Yoni Ki Baat: Vulnerable and Empowering". The Scarlet and Black. Retrieved September 7, 2018.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ ""Yoni ki Baat" - A Performance by Rangmanch". Stanford Humanities Center. March 3, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  19. ^ Gray, Jazzy (November 27, 2019). "Letting the Vagina Have a Monologue". Her Campus.
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