video performance project : wake up woman

Wake up woman!
The cock is crowing;
It's 3 a.m.
Wake up- it's time to weed the fields
in the distant hills.
Sleep no more;
Arise from the burdens of yesterday,
Forget the hours of toil
In that hot sun
That arose when you worked in the field
But set while you hurried to clear the weeds.
In the dark you return, as you left,
To those empty cooking pots.
Alas! the day is over
When the family enjoys the day's meal
But before you rest your feet
A voice calls: Woman get me hot water!
With that you know it's over
Until the cock crows
And the circle begins again:
Wake up woman!
Wake up woman!

by Assumpta Acam-Oturu, Uganda.


I came across this poem two years ago, in a book entitled "Eye to eye, women", beautifully compiled by Anita Desai, a fabulous indian novelist.
Even though the poem doesn't strike me as an amazing piece of writing, there was something in it that made me read it again, and again, and again.
I particularly liked it's rhythm, it's circular repetitive structure, the simplicity of the short sentences. If you see, it's connection with nature is made in a more realistic and less idyllic way and there is much said in it in such a short melodic way. We can feel through these words a tired working body, obeying its duties in life, surviving and waiting for release. The cycle of life is therefore implicit, and behind this cycle we feel a strong energetic will to carry on despite the difficulties, a strength of character and an understanding of daily life in the big picture that is very feminine, utterly being an expression of womankind.
Women in Uganda, as in most parts of Africa still do most of the work- they grow and cook food, gather water and wood, and take charge of rising children. I like particularly the fact that it was written by one of these women, and so I believe the context in which it was written is extremely relevant.

When I found this poem, hidden in a small southwestern british library, I had just arrived from India myself, and was very in touch with the different ways of women, their roles, differences and similarities.I had realized by looking at women's positions in politics, in their religions, in their families and in their culture in the east, my own position as a woman in the western world and in this universe, and most crucially I understood there weren't many differences between east and west, on a deeper level.
I decided then it was time for a deeper reflection on this important social, political and also spiritual issue. Women studies, women movements needed an artistic and simultaneously realistic approach, that would be all encompassing, whilst specific.
To become aware is to resist. There are enough women in this era well enough aware that their self-sufficience, education, and involvement in politics is so important that they need to undertake some serious action.
It is to them that I'm now writing. I want to gather more creative voices, womankind expressions and collectively create a video-performance that will arise our audiences awareness and hopefully make a difference in society.

"Wake up woman" is then the title for this work, that will allow us to reflect on those, these and mostly our lives and will confront us on how asleep we are in society.

My research has been continuous and wide and after long hours deciding what exactly needs to be said and how, I found five main topics that allow us to reflect on women's life, from a western point of view:

1- From maternity to abandon;
2- From independence to loneliness
3-From religion to spirituality;
4-From love to gender issues;
5-From religion to spirituality.

As part of my research was based on informal conversations with the most varied women (from different countries, ages, religions and economic backgrounds), I realized how "important things" are much better said by these women themselves, and decided they needed to be filmed and interviewed. They needed a space of expression like the poem.
And that space would be the video, working on a documentary style to be mixed with the performance work.
The video would follow the repetitive circular structure adapted in the poem: 1 interview, 1 appearance of the character; 1 interview, 1 appearance of the character. First shot- last shot- first shot.

On stage this character will present the poem with a sequence of movements adapted from a recollection of female movements, in the western and eastern traditions, after or simultaneously with the video projection.
The character of the performance represents all of these women, and will be a result of their truths.
It is their stories that will create the character, that ultimately will find its conflict and release.
The character will wear a white large long dress representing a neutral field for expression, and will do actions that are as well repetitive and part of daily life.

The context will play a very fine role, because my intention is to film this character in London and in an indian village.

There's no script for the film, other than the interviews. The film will be a result of a collective participation. The editing should suggest women's emotional patterns and the goal is for the audience to understand the mechanical routine of oppression surrounding them, clarifying that the process of women's evolution (liberation being the phase we are now crossing) is a global universal one, otherwise it can't happen.

FROM MATERNITY TO ABANDON

It is a part of women's psyche to consider maternity. Some women see it as a choice, others as a duty.
Some take it as a blessing, others as a curse.Truth is, in any society women have been given (by man) a mission- to give birth and raise children. Even though after the 70's feminist revolution a large amount of women see maternity with more clarity, choosing when to have children and finding the appropriate conditions to do so, many women, don't. Conscious or not, most women feel maternity is something they need to experience, and to do so, they understand they must abandon a part of themselves, if not the time to themselves. They believe that's the way it is, and they don't really question their true nature. They consider themselves otherwise selfish, immature, and immoral. They believe that is the way to be part of the whole, and as women the search for wholeness is continuous and essential.
But how important is it, in a liberation process, for women to become selfish?

In another hand, some women simply believe maternity it's not for them. Instead they dedicate themselves pursuing higher education, building a career, or just enjoying their liberty, and still they feel they have abandoned maternity.

In one way or another, I always got the impression when talking with different women that there's a sense of abandon in their psyche, something that was left behind, something that always needs to be committed to achieve something else. The idea of abandon could be said to be intuitive, and as natural as maternity, and this feeling (that something needs to dye in order for another to be born) is present and clear for every woman.
This deep spiritual understanding is received by menstruation, and only when its awareness will be total can women progress.

FROM LOVE TO ADAPTATION

Women have a great capacity to give and receive love as any other human being does. But how do women love?
The history of the sexes show us how women were always to please their husbands. It took a few years for women to liberate themselves from that deed and women in the west find themselves now free to sleep with whoever they fancy, they believe and search for their own pleasure and they don't take a husband for granted. Our issue is not concerned with women's sexual liberation, how attached they are to old patterns, or how much guilty still survives in their sexual relations. It is not the frame of this work to raise the question of women's advantages or disadvantages in the west compared to the east neither.

What we want to raise awareness for is the great capacity of adaptation present in women's love.Women have great tolerance, because they are physically and therefore psychologically prepared for change. They are subject to change on a monthly basis, and the fact that their bodies evolves is reminded to them not only in their teens, but during all their mature years.
Women learn from an early age that they change, that all nature is changing, and we're ever ephemeral.
In the past, and still in the east, women adapted to their husbands, to their mother in laws, to the laws of their countries, to the traditions of their cultures. They were good servants and proved great capacity for acceptance.
Adaptation has been carried by women throughout millennia, before, during and after marriage.

Today, in the west and in the east, we still find a lot of women committing and adapting to their husbands, partners,societies and religions more then these ever committed or adapted to them.
Even though we're aware of this well known injustice, it is not in the frame of this work to raise the issue of inequality of gender in society.
I understand the capacity for adaptation as a great potential in womankind, a talent inherited by women, that needs to be recognized and therefore directed towards positive transformation and change.
Only when aware of her full potential, can a woman truly grow. Only when she finds her tools, she will be able to use them.

FROM INDEPENDENCE TO LONELINESS

Women's independence became the main issue, and the focus of western young generations. While in the east, women are sometimes still striving for survival, since the 70's, western women have been searching and to a certain extent, achieving independence. Every woman now has access to education and an opportunity to work, the right to vote and to express themselves, therefore being at least possible for them to become financially independent from men.
On a society where money is a priority, fashion, technology and body fitness became standards for women to prove themselves and fit in.
And for them to be able to answer to that demanding market, women need and want more money, so to feel more liberated and independent forgetting this market was created by men in the very first place. In a competing society women who are hard workers,and have long hour jobs, are now encountering a certain distance from their families, the others, and their nature.

Loneliness became present in any western woman's psyche, it is starting to be accepted as a condition sine qua non for the achievement of the so long searched independence. It is the well known virus of the big developed cities, the parasite of great development, and a consequence of cosmopolitanism.
The question is how lonely do you need to be to become independent? How illusory can this sort of independence be?

When talking with women, in the east and west about how independent they felt, they always refer to their families, partners or friends to define their independence. For some, independence was a search, an achievement. For others it was like it has always been there, an obvious part of them. Still for others that question didn't make sense, and those never even questioned how independent they were.

What came up as most important when talking about independence was the relation it had with their communities. All women despite their levels of independence or dependence (financially and emotionally) showed a profound understanding that independence needs to be achieved within the community rather then away from it.

It is this purpose that becomes relevant on the women's liberation pathway. As women we encounter the self through the collective.

FROM LOVE TO GENDER ISSUES

Gender is constantly present in any form of society. Western and eastern societies are clearly divided by gender. Even among remaining tribes, duties are shared and rituals performed, between males and females.
Therefore the definition of women is presented in opposition, or in relation to men. Women have been basing their sense of identity in this interaction.
In a process of liberation women have been confronting gender issues more than ever, but they need to search for their own identity, not according to others, but independently from others.

In love relationships, gender is as important.Gender role play is part of the western society nowadays at any level. Gay relationships are now accepted and people started to believe that gender doesn't define your emotions or feelings about someone else. Now, how far does gender and love play together?How far do we go?

Do we really want to live in a society where gender doesn't matter or do we like to be males, females, transsexuals,and transgenders ?
Can we believe in an androygenous society where male and female side is balanced in every single individual, and there's no differentiation between the sexes, but rather, equality?

Women need to understand what they want, when they appeal for equality in society. They can not defend equality by playing a male role, dressing up like man and even behaving and thinking like one. They are acting against themselves and creating a paradox and deep conflict in the social tissue.

In the east women have to deal with greater problems such as domestic violence, or exploited work. But these are just the most common. The law is never on their side and cases of rape, non registered girls birth, and deprivation of an equal opportunity, in the work and at home, is frequent.

The search for equality in gender is a long, tough one. It is important for women to understand their own gender, and affirm it, independently from men. It is most relevant that they stay together, and face their fears. In the east, and in the west.

FROM RELIGION TO SPIRITUALITY

It is clear and not even arguable that all religions discriminate by gender. Therefore when we speak of women's liberation we can not escape and shut our eyes to the impact of religion in society, concerning women's issues.
Most religions declare roles for men and women separately, and divide their religions in certain hierarchies that do not allow women to have the higher posts. The spiritual voice of women has then been always neglected, and their star roles are always presented as the carers, rather then the bishops, giving them a passive quality and certainly diminishing their full potential. It's bizarre that we find no female prophets in History!

It seems clear that for women to liberate themselves they need to liberate themselves from religion. This process is cause for deep anxiety, tension and distress in varied societies. It is most of all the fear of losing contact with god that stops women from changing their attitudes.

It is also clear that women have been finding a different encounter and expression of their spirituality. They are finding other pathways to prayer and reflection, or in other ways another stage of spiritual development. They are connecting with deeper parts of themselves, which allows them and prepares them for a deeper change, that is not encompassed by religion.

What is then the spiritual role of women in a society and time where all religions, rituals, and dynamics are being questioned?
How can women liberate themselves from religion without turning their backs to their communities?

It is important that women themselves make their own connection with the whole or God. It is necessary that women encounter and gather the material inside of them that gives them the strength collectively to recreate, re-educate, and re-tune society, and spirituality is an extreme essential gate.
Only when women understand their deeper spiritual selves, evolution or change can take place, and fear can move out of their way.