Vagina Monologues, I dare say!

A few years back a play dubbed “The Vagina Monologues” was scheduled to be staged in one of the theatres of Kampala. The moment the originators of this idea started promoting their thing on the FM stations of this dusty town, hell broke loose. There were people who did not want the play to be staged because it was some form of lewdness unaccustomed to African societies while others just hated it because of the word ‘Vagina’ in its title. ‘These days I have had to stop listening to the radio, because the word vagina is over used’ and ‘what are we teaching our kids, that it is okay to say Vagina whenever you want?’ were statements I heard a number of times as the debate raged on. In no time, one or two cabinet ministers had jumped into the fray and things were getting hotter unnecessarily, I thought. Thankfully for the promoters, the play had now got all the publicity they wanted and some neutrals like me where now seriously considering taking that heavily pot-holed road towards Ntinda/Kisaasi to watch the play. To cut the long story short, a lot was said, people drew daggers gratuitously and eventually the Nays with a lot of political backing carried the day – the play was never staged.

Fast forward to February 2010, yours truly is now a resident of Accra, its now over 6 months and my Ghananisation is well and truly underway. There is not a whole lot to do in Accra especially when your are an ‘expat spouse’ - a term I found extensively in use here – and so often I have found myself driving down to the shopping mall just ‘to look around’. Recently as I was driving along the road that joins the road that joins liberation road – sorry roads have no signs here just like the ones in Kampala - I saw this big banner/banting reading “Vagina Monologues at the National Theatre”. My mind immediately raced back to the acrimonious situation in Kampala and the full battle was replayed in my mind. I started wondering why there was not so much hubbub here, don’t people know that this word is not supposed to be used in public (in Africa!!). First and foremost, the one thing that I have not done so well here, is get used to the local radio stations in Accra (like I did in Nairobi and London) and although I already have a favorite station –Joy FM – it isn’t yet making the mark for me, so I haven’t been such an dedicated listener to radio as I was in the previous two addresses. I therefore have no idea if this play was promoted on the local FM stations like it was done in Kampala. May be the promoters did not use the radio and if they had, the same frenzy would have been whipped up.

Anyway, after this incident a few things came to my mind about Ugandans and our level of tolerance. Despite the fact that Kenya seems to have more Muslims than Uganda, beef is sold along side pork in Nairobi’s City Market (although I must point out that it is not at the same stalls). In Kampala selling pork in Nakasero or in any one of the big markets, would cause so much uproar, that no body is willing to disturb the existing situation. In Tanzania the use of the white round cup is not exclusive to the Muslim brothers and it would be okay for a Robert to use one as a hat. In Uganda most Muslim brothers will condemn me for doing so and the overzealous ones may find it necessary to confiscate it forcefully. As I write someone in a position of responsibility is trying work up the community to support the hanging and locking away of Gays – utter nonsense, I think. Someone should try to work up the population into rising up against all those politicians and public servants who still public funds. I think Ugandans are a very intolerant lot but we are channeling our intolerance to the wrong issues. Unfortunately, the play was to be staged on a date when I would be out of Accra, so I still don’t know if it is licentious to stage the play or even watch it.