''Seven'' is a documentary play, first performed in 2008, written by seven women playwrights based on interviews with seven women around the world who have fought for the rights and well-being of women and girls.

The women

The women whose stories form the basis of ''Seven'' are all involved in the Vital Voices Global Partnership. They are: *

Hafsat Abiola Hafsat Olaronke Abiola-Costello (born 21 August 1974) in Lagos, is a Nigerian human rights, civil rights and democracy activist, founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), which seeks to strengthen civil society and promote democracy ...

, Nigeria, who founded the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy and works to improve relations between Chinese and African women; winner of 2016

Global Leadership Award The Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honor international women leaders in the fields of human rights, economic empowerment, or political reform. The event takes place annually in early spring at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Ar ...

for Leadership in Public Life *

Farida Azizi Farida Azizi is an Afghan advocate for peace and women's rights. Azizi has consulted with President George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton on women's roles in helping to rebuild Afghanistan. Azizi is a founding member of the Corporation for Peace and Un ...

, Afghanistan, campaigner for women's rights and peace in her country * Annabella De Leon, Guatemala, congresswoman and campaigner against corruption and for the rights of the poor; winner of 2003

for Political Participation *

Mukhtar Mai Mukhtaran Bibi ( ur, ; born Kristof, N & Wudunn, S, (2009), "Half The Sky", Virago), now known as Mukhtār Mā'ī, is a Pakistani human rights activist from the village of Meerwala, located in the rural ''tehsil'' of Jatoi in the Muzaffargar ...

, Pakistan, survivor of a gang rape and campaigner for women's education; winner of 2006 Global Leadership Awards Fern Holland Award *

Inez McCormack Inez McCormack (née Murphy; 28 September 1943 – 21 January 2013) was a Northern Irish trade union leader and human rights activist. She was the first female president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (1999 to 2001), representing the U ...

, Northern Ireland, former president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions; winner of 2002 Global Leadership Award for Political Participation * Marina Pisklakova-Parker, Russia, founder of first Russian hot-line for victims of domestic violence; winner of 2004 Global Leadership Award for Human Rights * Mu Sochua, Cambodia, former Minister of Women's Affairs and campaigner against sex-trafficking; winner of 2005 Global Leadership Award for Human Rights

The playwrights

Seven women collaborated to write the play: *

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in ''The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series '' Nu ...

* Ruth Margraff * Gail Kriegel * Paula Cizmar *

Susan Yankowitz Susan Yankowitz (born February 20, 1941 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American dramatist and novelist who has created works on mortality, violence against women and the Jonestown Massacre . Personal life Yankowitz gave birth to a son, Gabriel, in ...

Carol K. Mack Carol K. Mack is an American playwright and author. She has written several one-act plays and some of them have won awards. Her plays have been performed internationally. Career Mack is a New Dramatists alumna. She is a part of The Women's Projec ...

Catherine Filloux Catherine Filloux is an award-winning French Algerian American playwright and librettist and activist. Filloux's plays have confronted the issue of human rights in many nations. She is of French Algerian descent. She lives in New York City, New Y ...

Development of the play

Each playwright worked with one of the women whose stories make up the play over a series of interviews in 2006–2007, and wrote a dramatic monologue based on these. The writers met in February 2007 to read the monologues together, and then worked them into a unified script during a Residency Fellowship retreat at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 18 ...

. The first draft was read in July 2007. The play was first performed on 21 January 2008 at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, directed by Evan Yionoulis. Since then it has been translated into 20 languages and performed in 32 countries, . Some productions have involved well-known professional actors, as when

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

read the part of Inez McCormack at the

Hudson Theatre The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built ...

on New York's Broadway. Other productions have involved amateur groups or public figures, as when a group of senior Belarus government ministers performed it in Minsk in 2015 and Washington Supreme Court justice

Mary Yu Mary Isabel Yu (born 1957) is an American jurist and Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court and former judge of the King County Superior Court. She is the state's first openly gay, Asian American, and Latina Justice. She is also the 6 ...

read the part of Farida Azizi at

Town Hall Seattle Town Hall Seattle, or Town Hall locally, is a cultural center and performance hall located on Seattle, Washington, USA's First Hill at 1119 8th Ave. Built as Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, a Church of Christ, Scientist church, from ...

in 2016.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 14096980 2008 plays Docudrama plays Biographical plays about activists Cultural depictions of activists Cultural depictions of women Cultural depictions of Nigerian women Cultural depictions of Pakistani women Cultural depictions of Afghan women Cultural depictions of British women Cultural depictions of Russian women Cultural depictions of Cambodian women Feminist plays