Editor's corner/ Over a cup of tea
Heidi M. Pascual*
Publisher & Editor
* 2006 Journalist of the
Year for the State of
Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA)
Publisher & Editor
* 2006 Journalist of the
Year for the State of
Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA)
| A progressive issue |
While compiling the edited stories in this issue, I realized that many of the stories are
“progressive,” even highly controversial or as some might consider, radical. Take for instance
my report on “Yoni Ki Baat” (Talk of the Vagina) monologues, a performance at the Wisconsin
Union by young, educated South Asian women who tackled the issue of sexuality and the
challenge of being caught between two “opposite” cultures. I was almost tempted to put the
entire performance online (watch a portion of “Yoni Ki Baat” at my YouTube channel or at www.
asianwisconzine.com); but I understand how it might feel if the actor is mistaken as the owner of
the piece she performed. There were lots of F word, S***, and other sexually explicit terms which
will surely shock the performers’ parents.
I also have a report on a recent rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol of a group calling for
Chinese people to quit the Chinese Communist Party. The Midwest Service Center for Quitting
the CCP, led by University of Michigan Prof. Tommy Xu, was on a 14-city tour, and they were
joined by the Wisconsin Tibetan Association in the Madison rally. Most of the group’s members
are Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in their homeland, as they are perceived
as a threat to the ruling authority.
My interview of Asra Nomani, the character behind the PBS documentary “The Mosque in
Morgantown,” explored a Muslim American woman’s challenges in relation to her community’s
mosque and the people therein. Nomani’s response that in order to change tradition and correct
a cultural anomaly, Muslim women should “deeply understand that mosques are not just places
to bow our heads in prostration to God. ... We have to fight back to take back our mosques from
ideologues who want to practice a puritanical brand of Islam that segregates and silences
women ...” said it all.
The third Annual Asian American Voices event at UW-Madison focused on the Japanese
American internment during WWII, the killing of internee James Wakasa, and prejudices against
Asians in America. For once, Asian Americans were not silent. We salute the Asian American
students at UW as well as their collaborating partners who made this three-days-of- awakening
event possible.
“progressive,” even highly controversial or as some might consider, radical. Take for instance
my report on “Yoni Ki Baat” (Talk of the Vagina) monologues, a performance at the Wisconsin
Union by young, educated South Asian women who tackled the issue of sexuality and the
challenge of being caught between two “opposite” cultures. I was almost tempted to put the
entire performance online (watch a portion of “Yoni Ki Baat” at my YouTube channel or at www.
asianwisconzine.com); but I understand how it might feel if the actor is mistaken as the owner of
the piece she performed. There were lots of F word, S***, and other sexually explicit terms which
will surely shock the performers’ parents.
I also have a report on a recent rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol of a group calling for
Chinese people to quit the Chinese Communist Party. The Midwest Service Center for Quitting
the CCP, led by University of Michigan Prof. Tommy Xu, was on a 14-city tour, and they were
joined by the Wisconsin Tibetan Association in the Madison rally. Most of the group’s members
are Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in their homeland, as they are perceived
as a threat to the ruling authority.
My interview of Asra Nomani, the character behind the PBS documentary “The Mosque in
Morgantown,” explored a Muslim American woman’s challenges in relation to her community’s
mosque and the people therein. Nomani’s response that in order to change tradition and correct
a cultural anomaly, Muslim women should “deeply understand that mosques are not just places
to bow our heads in prostration to God. ... We have to fight back to take back our mosques from
ideologues who want to practice a puritanical brand of Islam that segregates and silences
women ...” said it all.
The third Annual Asian American Voices event at UW-Madison focused on the Japanese
American internment during WWII, the killing of internee James Wakasa, and prejudices against
Asians in America. For once, Asian Americans were not silent. We salute the Asian American
students at UW as well as their collaborating partners who made this three-days-of- awakening
event possible.