THE anniversary show of the Vagina Monologues in Cebu came at the perfect time this year, a little over a week before International Women’s Day. As International Women’s Day celebrates women’s achievements across countries and generations, so does the Monologues’ global V-Day Movement work tirelessly against harassment, rape, female genital mutilation, and battery of women. The Vagina Monologues is a play based on Eve Ensler’s interviews of more than 300 women of different cultures, gender orientations, and personal histories.

In Cebu, premier theater company 2TinCans Philippines continues to organize the Monologues as part of the V-Day Movement to empower women. This year’s show was bigger and louder than the early Monologues I had seen before, which was staged with an audience of perhaps 100 to 200 people, at the second floor of The Henry Hotel a few years ago. This year, the Arctic Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino was filled on a Sunday night with a crowd of over 400, who were entertained by the show which ran for more than two hours. The Vagina Warriors prove themselves to be multi-talented women both off stage and on it, with several of them putting on musical performances aside from doing monologues. This year’s show gathered over 30 Vagina Warriors of various ages, backgrounds and professions to lend their talent and influence for V-Day. Producing artistic director Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson said it was a challenge to gather warriors with very busy schedules, but the performances brought the house down while raising awareness and raising funds for the Bidlisiw Foundation, the social welfare and development agency which has been the beneficiary of the Vagina Monologues shows for 20 years.