Juliana Dogbadzi was held captive and abused for years before escaping
Human rights the focus of exhibition and play
Juliana Dogbadzi’s childhood was unjustly snatched away at too young an age. At seven she was sold — as part of a cultural tradition called Trokosi — to a fetish priest in Ghana. She was forced to work for free without adequate clothing or food and was continuously raped by the priest as atonement for the sins of her grandfather. Finally at age 23 after several failed attempts Dogbadzi escaped with her two children.
She could have walked away from the pain and suffering she’d been subjected to for so many years but instead she chose to speak up against Trokosi and fight for other women still enslaved by the archaic cultural practice.
Because of Dogbadzi’s bravery the practice was outlawed in Ghana though the laws against Trokosi are lax. Even now she continues to travel throughout the West African country to meet with slaves and fight for their emancipation.
This courageous woman is just one of 50 human rights defenders celebrated in Speak Truth to Power which includes a photo exhibition at St. Mary’s University College featuring the work of Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Eddie Adams and an accompanying play at Martha Cohen Theatre written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Ariel Dorfman. Other featured human rights advocates include Archbishop Desmond Tutu the Dalai Lama and free speech defender and journalist Freedom Neruda.
The photo exhibition based on Kerry Kennedy’s book of the same name was first featured at Washington’s Corcoran Gallery in September 2000. Adam’s breathtaking photographs have since travelled to Boston New York Memphis Jacksonville Florida Chicago and Salt Lake City for the Olympics.
Dorfman’s play has been presented at theatres from Washington to Geneva Helsinki and Athens. Instead of each playing a part however the actors read excerpts from interviews with each of the 50 human rights defenders while a captivating black-and-white photograph of the individual is displayed in the background.
“We’re giving a voice to these people” says Valerie Planche a local actor who reads the parts of Dogbadzi an anonymous Sudanese woman and the co-founder of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission Asma Jahangir. “We’re not reliving their stories; we are telling you so that you can be changed or take action from their story.”
Dogbadzi’s touching story is one of the most powerful in Speak Truth to Power . The stunning black and white photograph of her is also one of the most striking in the exhibition. She stares at the viewer with melancholy grace and with the very confidence and strength that helped her escape and challenge Ghana’s prevailing cultural traditions.
“I just found it amazing that a woman who had been steeped in this culture could say ‘This is not right’ and then risk her own life to liberate other women” says Linda Smith organizer of the Speak Truth to Power exhibition at St. Mary’s. “To me when I read their stories I feel so little I think ‘ What am I doing?’ But you start with one small step otherwise you can feel sort of powerless.”
She hopes Speak Truth to Power will educate the public about the devastating impact of war conflict prejudice and unjust cultural practices such as Trokosi and child labour. These stories she adds are meant to inspire and to encourage us to speak up against such injustice.