International Women’s Day with Aliya-Jasmine Sovani
“I have a vagina,” said Aliya-Jasmine Sovani in a confident and somewhat arrogant tone.
The speaker for an International Women’s Day event addressed a small crowd at Humber North Campus.
“I mean, any woman’s allowed to speak on International Women’s Day. You’re a woman… I come here speaking not for all women; I come here telling my story.”
The MTV personality and producer was at the Students’ Centre sharing her experiences in TV, which started about a decade ago.
“My first year of university is kind of where everything changed.”
Sovani described her year at the University of Waterloo and the car crash that changed her life.
Driving down a highway in her hometown of Ottawa, she says she swerved her Jeep to avoid being hit by another car. Her vehicle flipped into oncoming traffic. It slid approximately 30-feet with her arm underneath the roll bar, essentially tearing her flesh and “de-gloving” her arm.
“Think about when your washing the dishes and you have a plastic glove on, then think of it coming off inside out,” Sovani said.
She explained her recovery process and the scars, which had her questioning her future.
A trip to Africa, opportunities with the NFL, and her Save The Boobs campaign, the MTV host reminisced about how far she has come since her tragic accident.
Sovani’s Save The Boobs, breast cancer awareness campaign was highly criticized for being over-sexualized in order to gain attention when it was first released. The video shows her strutting poolside in a bikini while her breasts bounced in slow motion and other poolside partiers gazed in desire.
“At first I thought it was very sexual,” says first-year Pastry Arts Management student, Alexis Spence. “But by the end it kind of sums it up. I think it’s sexual but for good reason.”
Many at the 25-minute event felt impartial about the video, not completely agreeing or disagreeing with its ethics.
Relative to last year’s event featuring Jessi Cruickshank, this year’s turnout was lower.
About the Author
Mark Onufer I'm a story teller, music mixer and new media enthusiast who enjoys reaching audiences through many platforms. With radio, TV and print experience, as well as my drive to capitalize on today’s digital world, I make use of technology to connect and entertain all walks of life.
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