May 9, 2014
Hamilton College’s Womyn’s Center organized the Women Speak Out on Thursday, May 1 in the Chapel at 7 p.m. Dedicated to having women’s stories told on the Hill, the Women Speak Out included 16 women who shared deeply emotional stories that moved several members of the audience to tears.
Emma Wilkinson ’16 opened the stage to the participants of Women Speak Out with an introductory speech. Started in 2009 as a student’s thesis project, the Women Speak Out has since been a special event for the Womyn’s Center. Wilkinson stressed, “These stories are triggering” and explained how the Women Speak Out enabled women to share moments of their lives that were extremely difficult. “Proudly speaking out is a victory,” continued Wilkinson, “we survive, we thrive, we are victorious.”
Panelist Swati Acharya ’16 shared lived experiences through a story about diaspora and displaced people. Born in the US to Nepali parents, Acharya shared her experience of being raised in Geneva, Switzerland, and the complications of identity it created for her.
“I am not native to any country,” Acharya said as she recounted stories of mass colonization. “We are haunted by past histories,” Acharya stressed, and upon retelling her meeting with an Algerian man in Geneva, she said, “He was haunted by past histories of human trafficking.” The history of British colonization resulted in new opportunities for people in developing countries, so, as Acharya explained, “What other choice did they have but to travel to a country which had more opportunities?” The gap between developed and developing nations resulted in mass migrations, triggering the displacement of several people and creating a diaspora of international citizens.
Isla Ng ’16 performed on stage with a spoken word piece entitled, “Why are half Asian girls so beautiful?” The crux of Ng’s introduction stressed “There is very little space in our culture for identity that is complex, nuanced and even sometimes self-contradictory. I've found I've had to claim that space for myself and claim for myself a chance to self-define and self-validate. This poem is an expression of that idea.” A powerful poem about race, complicated identity and expression of self-validation, the spoken word piece emphasized racial differences and stereotypes bi-racial children are continually subject to in America.
Panelists shared arresting stories about sexual assault and rape, and one of them emphasized, “I speak on behalf of women because I believe I am in the midst of an endemic” when articulating the horrific physical and mental violence women and victims of sexual assault are subject to on a regular basis.
When dealing with the trauma that follows after sexual assault, “Respect is a necessity,” said another panelist. “This experience followed me,” she continued. In several ways, she said, sexual assault makes you “question your identity” and “doubt yourself and redefine yourself.”
A panelist also spoke about abusive relationships that create unsafe environments. She recounted how abuse is cyclical, how experiences from past relationships influence future behaviors in people. She explained how “abuse is not always clear but retrospect is,” making it so difficult to retain “control” in relationships.
Women Speak Out covered a variety of social justice issues involving women’s roles in relationships, sex, the LGBTQ community and the society at large. A moving event with deeply unsettling stories about the struggles women continue to face in the 21st century, Women Speak Out aimed to show how women can be victorious. As Wilkinson put it, “Let’s be victorious tonight, let’s be victorious tomorrow.”
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