Eve Ensler is an American playwright and feminist best known for her internationally successful play The Vagina Monologues. She has written several other plays, books and films, but most recently she’s toured with The Good Body, a play that asks women to love the “good bodies” they inhabit. Her latest book, Insecure At Last, underscores the fact that we are less secure since major efforts on terrorism have been initiated by the current administration.

Moxie Theatre Company is currently producing Ensler’s latest play, The Treatment, at the Lyceum Theatre April 6-29.

Ensler graciously gave up some of her valuable time to speak to me from New York last Friday, one day before she was to fly to Haiti to fight for women’s rights. This is what she had to say:

Gay & Lesbian Times: Why work so tirelessly for women’s causes around the world?

Eve Ensler: We have no other choice; we have to do it. Women are the primary resource on this planet and they impact everything. We are winning the fight and successes on many levels, and these efforts have empowered women all over the world to stand up and demand their rights. Above all, we must stop violence against women, and I believe the underlying tenet to curtailing violence is to prevent and stop war.

GLT: You have spoken and listened to thousands of women all over the world. Do their stories contain some universal thread?

EE: It is incredible how the different faces of women living all over the world face so many of the same issues. Even though these women hurt from their suffering and wail and tear as a response to injustice, they keep going, gathering the superhuman strength to march forward with their dignity intact.

GLT: You have visited and spoken with women in Croatia, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Is there any place you wouldn’t visit?

EE: There are too many individuals who hold power throughout the world that continue to treat women like animals. If I can make a difference in their lives, I will make every attempt to touch their lives and help the world to understand their universal feeling of powerlessness. My quest is to help them understand the difference between living and dying. I leave tomorrow for Haiti and will then visit the Congo, where it is reported that over 25,000 women have been raped. I go where I am asked to go.

GLT: In your book, Insecure At Last, you blame multinational corporations in partnership with the U. S. government masquerading as our great protector as the cause for worldwide starvation, the destruction of the environment, horrendous poverty, illness, illiteracy, the spreading of AIDS and resulting violence. Realistically, is there anything that can be done to change this situation?

EE: This is a huge question that can’t be answered easily. I can only encourage everyone living on this planet to fight for basic rights – food, shelter, drinkable water, health care, a place to live, safety and a livable earth. We can do it in small ways that affect the planet globally. For example, instead of purchasing bottled water, use a filtering system. Instead of buying flowers grown with chemicals that cause severe damage to the pickers, simply don’t buy them. I could easily do without flowers if it means saving lives.

GLT: In your book you inform your readers how the president of the United States and many other world leaders have been successful in manufacturing thousands of potential terrorists in the name of security? Can you briefly explain your position?

EE: The lies that were told to the American people to justify the invasion in Iraq speak for themselves. …utilizing techniques of torture in the name of democracy while this unjust war continues only assists the terrorists. In denying world citizens their basic civil rights, we have managed to spread distrust, contempt, rage and violence within the international community.

GLT: Why do you think we are still in Iraq?

EE: Because we don’t have a strong enough Congress to effectively remove the Bush cabal. It’s an administration driven by greed. The war is driven by companies like Halliburton. The United States has ruined Iraq. We are still in Iraq because even when so many suspected that the reasons for the war were based upon lies, we didn’t do anything about it. Much of the blame must be placed upon what we didn’t do rather than the decisions that were ultimately made by our own elected leaders.

GLT: The Vagina Monologues has allowed you to enlist the help of vagina warriors. Who are these individuals?

EE: Vagina warriors are everyday revolutionaries that fight violence on this planet. They are citizens of the world who cherish humanity over nationhood. They include both men and women. These are individuals who speak out when everyone shouts at you to be quiet. These are individuals who honor the truth even if it means losing family, country and friends. They are men and women who universally grieve violence and truly inspire me.

GLT: After reading The Vagina Monologues and The Good Body, one gets a feeling that Eve Ensler doesn’t like herself. Have you been successful in overcoming your self-hatred?

EE: The most important thing is to keep doing the work that allows me to be of service to the world. Yes, I have days when self-hatred rears its ugly head, but I don’t take them as seriously as I did in the past.

GLT: You have been a witness for women to such joy and suffering. To what extent has it enriched your life?

EE: I love women, period. I see their power, their vision, their nurturing nature – I am deeply connected. And in this connectedness we are grieving together, but grieving with our dignity intact.

GLT: You seem to be intent on running head-first to disasters throughout the world. Why?

EE: I believe it’s important to help women in high distress and bring attention to their cause. Additionally, I have always harkened to the theory that whatever I can’t see terrorizes me.

GLT: In your latest play, The Treatment, you never mention the war with Iraq nor do you assign names to the two characters. Why not specifically identify the war and assign specific names?

EE: The Iraq War is emblematic of all wars; it doesn’t need to be specifically identified. Soldiers in the Vietnam War suffered PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) just as soldiers are suffering the same from the Iraqi War. Likewise, “Man and Woman” are representative character names for the many individuals who end up as casualties of war.

GLT: You are an iconic warrior/activist for women’s rights. What can we do to support your tireless efforts to stop violence against women and girls?

EE: Above all, believe that it’s possible.

Moxie Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of Eve Ensler’s The Treatment on April 7 at the Lyceum Theatre. The production will run through April 29. Ticket purchases can be made at www.moxietheatre.com or by calling 619-544-1000. This production is directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and features actors Matt Scott and Jennifer Eve Thorn. The haunting story underscores duty and responsibility when a traumatized soldier returns home from war seeking treatment from a military doctor. With Eve Ensler as playwright and Moxie Theatre producing, you will not be disappointed.