Yoni Ki Baat

Yoni Ki Baat, roughly translated from Hindi as "Talks of the Vagina," is a live performance of monologues by women of South Asian origin.^[1] The project was inspired by a production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues by the Kimaaya Theatre Company in Bangalore, India.^[2] Yoni Ki Baat was conceptualized in 2003 by South Asian Sisters, a non-profit collective of South Asian women based in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[3] At the time of its founding in 2003, the Bay Area was home to a critical mass of South Asian social justice organizations with which the South Asian Sisters collaborated.^[2] This included Trikone, the oldest South Asian LGBTQ magazine in the world, Narika and Maitri, supporting survivors of domestic violence in the South Asian community, ASATA (The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action) and many other community groups.^[4] The arts organization Yoni Ki Baat was co-founded by Sapna Shahani, Vandana Makker, and Maulie Dass in this climate of social justice organizing. As of 2012, South Asian Sisters have had eight unique scripts assembled from separate calls for submissions.

Yoni Ki Baat has been performed in various parts of the United States by campus organizations and local South Asian associations, 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 that help victims of domestic violence in the South Asian community.^[5]

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