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There are so many forces at work in this awful story: political, social, religious, certainly misogyny. But Nigerian playwright Ifeoma Fafunwa says that if the world is to make an honest reckoning of how and why women are oppressed, women must ask themselves, “What’s my responsibility? What did I do to create this world?”

Producer, director, performer, writer, architect. Over the past two decades, Ifeoma Fafunwa has worn many hats searching for the ideal vehicle with which to marry her art with her deep concerns for the world.

It is an expression of pure, justifiable rage and a call to arms from half a world away: HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True is viscerally alive onstage at the American Repertory Theater and will shake you into action.

Using the power of spoken word and personal accounts of hardships, Nigerian women shed light on the truth of the daily struggles women face.

What makes this show so cohesive is not only its powerful feminist message, but also its ability to balance comedy and tragedy as it transports its audience through vivid and often painful to watch scenes.

Living in a society where men hold all the cards, the women have to constantly fight to protect their bodies, their dignity and their right to be who they are. If that weren’t enough, relationships with their own sex, including mothers and mothers-in-laws, tend to be judgmental and without compassion. Which is why the piece is so powerful – it is compassionate, and compassion, when in short supply, doesn’t come easy.

The 100 minutes of this show contain a gamut of essential tales and testimonies that tear at heart and conscience but leave you cheering for the better angels of the human soul.

A remarkable cast of Nigerian actresses pierce the heart in Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True

As they recount and enact story after story of women who have been on the receiving end of male entitlement, aggression, and abuse, “Hear Word!’’ inexorably adds up to a damning portrait of toxic masculinity — and, ultimately, a call for female solidarity and empowerment.

“It takes you right into the heart of abuse,” says Jared, “but you leave the theater armed with awareness and action.”