Non-governmental organisation Suaram today lambasted Kuala Lumpur City Hall's banning of the controversial 'Vagina Monologues' as an outright violation of a woman's fundamental right to freedom of expression.

"Who are they (City Hall) to tell us what is good on stage and what's not? We doubt very much their abilities to even comprehend the complexity of the play," said Elizabeth Wong, spokesperson for Suaram.

Last month, City Hall, or DBKL, had withdrawn a permit given to Five Arts Theatre Company to perform the show, citing references to the Quran as the reason for its decision.

The All-Women's Action Society (Awam) had then decided to stage the show minus the Quranic references, but ultimately, even they could not surmount the 'V' word bulwark, and their performance had to be cancelled as well.

The Star reported on Wednesday that Awam had hoped to raise RM50,000 for its counselling and legal information services through the 'Monologues'.

Not one-dimensional monologue

The play was also supposed to mark a new way for the NGO to raise consciousness and awareness for International Women's Day, which is being celebrated worldwide today.

Wong also added that those who wield the keys of power will "stop at nothing to govern how women can dress, what women can say, what women can see and what women can believe and think".

"To fight gender discrimination, violence against women and the denial of rights of women, we need more than a set of legal documents ... we need an acknowledgment that women's rights are not a one-dimensional monologue," she said.

"Violence against women has not ceased despite the Domestic Violence Act [being in existence] for eight years...society prefers [such] issues to be closeted only as welfare issues, hence denying the inherently patriarchal [mindset] in existence, governing all of our social structures, institutions and values," she said.

Moreover, Wong criticised the hypocrisy of a constitution which prohibits gender discrimination, but yet allows for anti-women practices which are often disguised as 'culture'.