Septemeber 14, 2009
By Tezeta Tulloch
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, – In a room filled with visiting dignitaries and members of the Ethiopian National Assembly, Tadeletch Shanko’s voice was whisper-quiet as she talked about the difficult subject of female genital mutilation/cutting, or FGM/C.
Ms. Shanko had performed FGM/C on girls for the last 15 years and underwent the procedure herself as a girl, with devastating consequences.
“I lost seven of my nine children in childbirth,” she said. “Because of the scarring I sustained, I was not elastic enough. All seven of them suffocated inside my womb.”
Raising awareness
Ms. Shanko is no longer a supporter of FGM/C, as a result of a series of community dialogues on the physical and psychological harm caused by the practice.
She shared her story with the members of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Women’s Caucus, which convened in Addis Ababa late last month to assess the state of FGM/C across Africa – and to learn from the strategies that Ethiopia and other countries have put in place to eliminate it.
A key objective of the visit was to mobilize parliamentarian and state support for the elimination of harmful traditional practices, with a particular emphasis on female genital mutilation. Also on the agenda were ways to raise public awareness of FGM/C through the media; customary laws to introduce sanctions against the practice; and potential avenues for collaboration among various stakeholders in society.
Powerful testimony
The parliamentarians heard powerful testimony from women and men whose lives had been tragically affected by FGM/C.
For Aregash Agegnehu, female circumcision – as the practice is also known – had never been a question of choice. “I was circumcised when I was a child. My daughter had to be cut as well,” she said. “It was inevitable.”
But since participating in in-depth community dialogues on the subject, Ms. Agegnehu no longer believes that FGM/C is a requisite part of being a woman.
“When I started engaging in community dialogue, I came to understand the harm of FGM, and now I have changed,” she said.
Cultural beliefs
Female genital mutilation is widely practiced by Muslims and Christians alike in Ethiopia, and official statistics suggest that almost three-quarters of women here have undergone the procedure. Forms vary widely by region but generally entail either a partial or total removal of the clitoris.
In the most severe form, infibulation, the labia are removed and the genitals sewn shut – barring a small hole for the release of urine and menstrual blood.
The predominant cultural belief is that circumcision is an essential pre-condition of marriage and motherhood. In many communities, an uncircumcised female cannot be recognized as a woman. Some feel that circumcision is a safeguard against promiscuity. Another common belief is that uncircumcised women tend to be inept at carrying out common household duties.
According to the World Health Organization, women who have undergone FGM/C are more likely to suffer from infertility, develop vaginal cysts and have recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections. FGM/C also increases the risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths. It has no proven health benefits.
Worldwide, between 100 and 140 million girls and women are living with the consequences of FGM/C. In Africa, an estimated 92 million girls aged 10 and over have undergone some form of genital cutting.
Changed attitudes
Many mothers fear that, without circumcision, their daughters will not fulfil the criteria for marriage or gain full acceptance in the community. Indeed, supporters of FGM/C often cite the fact that it is a long-held social norm. But such attitudes are changing. By the end of 2008, four of Ethiopia’s districts had publicly pledged to abandon FGM/C.
Mergieta Temesgen Ashebir, a religious leader who uses his influence to speak out against the practice, also spoke at the PAP conference. “According to the bible,” he said, “circumcision is only for boys, not for girls. There is no verse that states otherwise.”
Hon. Anab Abdulkadir, PAP Acting Chairperson and a member of the Ethiopian Parliament, pointed out the importance of understanding the root causes of FGM/C
“The demand is coming from where?” she asked. “It is coming from men. If there wasn’t a demand, there wouldn’t have been any supply. We have to … outlaw that demand.”
‘Not cast in stone’
UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia Ted Chaiban voiced the need to accelerate and harmonize efforts to abolish FGM/C in Africa.
“There are encouraging signs that the practice of FGM in Ethiopia is declining,” he noted. “We see this mission of the Pan-African Parliament Women’s Caucus as a major opportunity to catalyze and synergize efforts in Ethiopia, and across Africa, towards an intensified and coordinated affront on FGM.”
Added Hon. Fatima Hajaig, a South African parliamentarian: “Cultural norms are not cast in stone. They develop from day to day. Our cultural value system changes as we go along. This business of ‘in the name of culture’ – I can’t accept that.”
UNICEF Ethiopia has been collaborating with partners on a number of advocacy efforts toward abandonment of FGM/C, including training community-dialogue facilitators and disseminating educational materials in various media. The parliamentary mission is the most recent effort in this direction.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Father Acquitted of Daughter's Genital Mutilation
September 12, 2009
HAARLEM, A 30 year old father has been acquitted of the genital mutilation of his 6 year old daughter. In the first female circumcision case ever in the Netherlands, the district court in Haarlem on Friday did convict the man for hitting and biting the girl - to three months in jail.
The girl's clitoris and labia minora are missing. The child lives with foster-parents. Her foster-mother discovered the mutilation when the child told her: 'pappa cut me up with a big scissors', the woman and the little girl told the court.
Nonetheless, the court took the view that the statements of the foster-mother and that of the girl are insufficient as evidence that the father is the perpetrator. According to the Public Prosecutor (OM), the father, Mustapha El M., should have been given six years in jail. The OM will appeal.
El M. of Moroccan origin, accused the OM of discrimination. According to him, the real perpetrators threaten to get away with it.
The judges did consider it proven that the father had bitten the girl in the cheeks several times and hit her on her back and in her face. El M. however only received three months jail for this. He had already served this in pre-trial custody, so that he was immediately released Friday.
The fight to abolish Female Genital
September 12, 2009
According to statistics, the number of girls that have undergone Female Genital Mutilation has dropped from 621 in 2000 to about 212 in 2008. This is a remarkable feat, even though leaders are on a campaign to have the practice abolished once and for all, amid numerous challanges writes David Mafabi
Asking residents of Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts on the slopes of Mt Elgon to end female genital mutilation [FGM] remains a challenge. While health experts and local leaders in the district are calling for stronger commitment from the communities to end the practice, many traditionalists are not ready to drop it.
The traditionalists argue that FGM is a culture that makes them distinct from other tribes; because through FGM, girls are initiated into womanhood, shapes the morality of women during marriage and above all, is a means of livelihood for some women who are directly involved in undertaking the procedure.
A traditional surgeon, Ms Kokop Cherop says circumcising girls is the only way she has been able to make a living and educate her children.
"I have been at it (circumcising girls) for the last 20 years and from this I have educated my children; it has now become a means of survival. So when someone talks about ending it, I just laugh it off," Ms Cherop, 67, said.
Whereas rights activists have condemned the act as being crude, outdated and an abuse of the dignity of the girl-child, independent reports reveal that the practice apparently takes place at night stealthily as an arrangement between the surgeons and parents of the girls.
According to the district leadership in Kapchorwa, this presents a challenge, especially regarding the change in the attitude of the people who are deeply involved in the culture.
According to Kapchorwa LC5 chairperson Nelson Chelimo, because of this challenge, sensitization of the masses against FGM has not yielded enough results to strengthen the fight against the practice although the district council has already passed an ordinance against FGM.
Said Mr Chelimo, "In line with the UN resolution against FGM adopted last year, we have called upon leaders to take action to end FGM in our district and already because of resistance from some sections of traditionalists, we have passed a law against the practice and are waiting for Parliament to act.” He added: “But we still have a big challenge in dealing with the people who have turned this practice into their livelihood.”
Mr Chelimo's fears are not unfounded. The traditional Sabiny have in the past resisted dropping FGM, which they argue is a practice that gives dignity to the traditional Sabiny woman.
Under the UN resolution 2007, FGM besides violating the rights of women and young girls, constitutes an irreparable mutilation and irreversible abuse.
Among the salient issues cited are mounting medical evidence that FGM poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, increasing vulnerability to HIV, raising the risk of maternal and infant mortality and harming psychological, sexual and reproductive health.
But even with these fears, Mr Chelimo is optimistic that the practice will be dropped, given the reduction in numbers of girls who are undergoing FGM at the moment.
Mr Chelimo like other leaders in the district believes the decline is due to the intervention of ReproductiveEducative And community Health [REACH] programme spearheaded by an local NGO headed by Ms Beatrice Chelangat.
The NGO operates in the districts of Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Nakapiripirit among the Pokot in Uganda where the tradition is highly practiced. REACH was established in Kapchorwa in 1996 to improve the reproductive health conditions and discard the harmful practice of FGM. According to them, in 12 years, the practice has dropped.
Statistics presented during the 12th annual Sabiny Day in Kapchorwa District Boma grounds indicate that in 2000, 621 girls were circumcised, while in 2004, 595 were mutilated, in 2006 a total of 226 girls were and in 2008 the numbers dropped further to about 212.
According to data for 2008 on Female Genital Mutilation based on a report by REACH, the community health programme against FGM has been addressing all stakeholders and adds that this year the advocacy campaign will be integrated to educate every Sabiny to discard the practice.
"Campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation initiated by REACH indicate that the practice has dropped to about 36 per cent even when the progress has been constrained by rumours, myths and misconceptions about the practice. It is thus recommended that FGM advocacy be stepped up and sub-county leadership pass by-laws denouncing FGM," reads the 2008 data report in part.
Ms Chelangat says even with the resistance from traditionalists, this time strategies have been laid down to involve all local leadership and the parliamentary leadership in the struggle to end FGM in order to restore dignity to the girl-child.
Mr Chelangat believes that a strong religious influence, local leadership support against the practice and increased enrollment of the girl-child at school, is likely to see that practice completely discarded in the next four years.
She revealed that REACH is targeting all communities that practice FGM like the Pokot both in Uganda and Kenya, the Sabiny and other tribes in Kenya while also tracing other Sabiny who have settled in other districts of Uganda.
Ms Chelangat says because Sabiny and Pokot FGM initiation ceremonies are carried out among girls between the age of 14 and 16 years, education and sensitisation of the girl-child in rural remote areas, exposure of the girl-child through training tours and revoking of FGM licenses is the sure way forward for ending the practice.
According to statistics, the number of girls that have undergone Female Genital Mutilation has dropped from 621 in 2000 to about 212 in 2008. This is a remarkable feat, even though leaders are on a campaign to have the practice abolished once and for all, amid numerous challanges writes David Mafabi
Asking residents of Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts on the slopes of Mt Elgon to end female genital mutilation [FGM] remains a challenge. While health experts and local leaders in the district are calling for stronger commitment from the communities to end the practice, many traditionalists are not ready to drop it.
The traditionalists argue that FGM is a culture that makes them distinct from other tribes; because through FGM, girls are initiated into womanhood, shapes the morality of women during marriage and above all, is a means of livelihood for some women who are directly involved in undertaking the procedure.
A traditional surgeon, Ms Kokop Cherop says circumcising girls is the only way she has been able to make a living and educate her children.
"I have been at it (circumcising girls) for the last 20 years and from this I have educated my children; it has now become a means of survival. So when someone talks about ending it, I just laugh it off," Ms Cherop, 67, said.
Whereas rights activists have condemned the act as being crude, outdated and an abuse of the dignity of the girl-child, independent reports reveal that the practice apparently takes place at night stealthily as an arrangement between the surgeons and parents of the girls.
According to the district leadership in Kapchorwa, this presents a challenge, especially regarding the change in the attitude of the people who are deeply involved in the culture.
According to Kapchorwa LC5 chairperson Nelson Chelimo, because of this challenge, sensitization of the masses against FGM has not yielded enough results to strengthen the fight against the practice although the district council has already passed an ordinance against FGM.
Said Mr Chelimo, "In line with the UN resolution against FGM adopted last year, we have called upon leaders to take action to end FGM in our district and already because of resistance from some sections of traditionalists, we have passed a law against the practice and are waiting for Parliament to act.” He added: “But we still have a big challenge in dealing with the people who have turned this practice into their livelihood.”
Mr Chelimo's fears are not unfounded. The traditional Sabiny have in the past resisted dropping FGM, which they argue is a practice that gives dignity to the traditional Sabiny woman.
Under the UN resolution 2007, FGM besides violating the rights of women and young girls, constitutes an irreparable mutilation and irreversible abuse.
Among the salient issues cited are mounting medical evidence that FGM poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, increasing vulnerability to HIV, raising the risk of maternal and infant mortality and harming psychological, sexual and reproductive health.
But even with these fears, Mr Chelimo is optimistic that the practice will be dropped, given the reduction in numbers of girls who are undergoing FGM at the moment.
Mr Chelimo like other leaders in the district believes the decline is due to the intervention of ReproductiveEducative And community Health [REACH] programme spearheaded by an local NGO headed by Ms Beatrice Chelangat.
The NGO operates in the districts of Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Nakapiripirit among the Pokot in Uganda where the tradition is highly practiced. REACH was established in Kapchorwa in 1996 to improve the reproductive health conditions and discard the harmful practice of FGM. According to them, in 12 years, the practice has dropped.
Statistics presented during the 12th annual Sabiny Day in Kapchorwa District Boma grounds indicate that in 2000, 621 girls were circumcised, while in 2004, 595 were mutilated, in 2006 a total of 226 girls were and in 2008 the numbers dropped further to about 212.
According to data for 2008 on Female Genital Mutilation based on a report by REACH, the community health programme against FGM has been addressing all stakeholders and adds that this year the advocacy campaign will be integrated to educate every Sabiny to discard the practice.
"Campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation initiated by REACH indicate that the practice has dropped to about 36 per cent even when the progress has been constrained by rumours, myths and misconceptions about the practice. It is thus recommended that FGM advocacy be stepped up and sub-county leadership pass by-laws denouncing FGM," reads the 2008 data report in part.
Ms Chelangat says even with the resistance from traditionalists, this time strategies have been laid down to involve all local leadership and the parliamentary leadership in the struggle to end FGM in order to restore dignity to the girl-child.
Mr Chelangat believes that a strong religious influence, local leadership support against the practice and increased enrollment of the girl-child at school, is likely to see that practice completely discarded in the next four years.
She revealed that REACH is targeting all communities that practice FGM like the Pokot both in Uganda and Kenya, the Sabiny and other tribes in Kenya while also tracing other Sabiny who have settled in other districts of Uganda.
Ms Chelangat says because Sabiny and Pokot FGM initiation ceremonies are carried out among girls between the age of 14 and 16 years, education and sensitisation of the girl-child in rural remote areas, exposure of the girl-child through training tours and revoking of FGM licenses is the sure way forward for ending the practice.
Australia proposes new refugee law for women
Associated Press
September 9, 2009
Australia's government proposed a new law Wednesday that would give asylum to immigrant women who would be at risk of genital mutilation or honor killings if forced to return to their homelands.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said such women did not always fit the definition of refugees under the United Nation's Refugees Convention because their persecution was not necessarily based on race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion.
The new legislation introduced to Parliament on Wednesday widens the criteria under which Australia can grant protection to asylum seekers. It was not clear when Parliament will vote on the legislation.
The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, as any procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It estimates that 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have had the procedure performed on them, most in African countries.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Women and Violence
Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio-economic and educational classes. It cuts across cultural and religious barriers, impeding the right of women to participate fully in society. Violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision. All are violations of the most fundamental human rights.
In a statement to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995, the United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said that violence against women is a universal problem that must be universally condemned. But he said that the problem continues to grow.
The Secretary-General noted that domestic violence alone is on the increase. Studies in 10 countries, he said, have found that between 17 per cent and 38 per cent of women have suffered physical assaults by a partner.
In the Platform for Action, the core document of the Beijing Conference, Governments declared that “violence against women constitutes a violation of basic human rights and is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace”.
Traditional practices
In many countries, women fall victim to traditional practices that violate their human rights. The persistence of the problem has much to do with the fact that most of these physically and psychologically harmful customs are deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of society.
The Work Of The Special Reporter
The issue of the advancement of women’s rights has concerned the United Nations since the Organization’s founding. Yet the alarming global dimensions of female-targeted violence were not explicitly acknowledged by the international community until December 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Until that point, most Governments tended to regard violence against women largely as a private matter between individuals, and not as a pervasive human rights problem requiring State intervention. In view of the alarming growth in the number of cases of violence against women throughout the world, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint the Special Reporter on violence against women, including its causes and consequences.
As a result of these steps, the problem of violence against women has been drawing increasing political attention. The Special Reporter has a mandate to collect and analyze comprehensive data and to recommend measures aimed at eliminating violence at the international, national and regional levels. The mandate is threefold: ? To collect information on violence against women and its causes and consequences from sources such as Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to respond effectively to such information; To recommend measures and ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences; To work closely with other special reporters, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights.
Female genital mutilation
According to the World Health Organization, 85 million to 115 million girls and women in the population have undergone some form of female genital mutilation and suffer from its adverse health effects. Every year an estimated 2 million young girls undergo this procedure. Most live in Africa and Asia — but an increasing number can be found among immigrant and refugee families in Western Europe and North America. Indeed, the practice has been outlawed in some European countries. In France, a Malian was convicted in a criminal court after his baby girl died of a female circumcision-related infection. The procedure had been performed on the infant at home.
In Canada, fear of being forced to undergo circumcision can be grounds for asylum. A Nigerian woman was granted refugee status since she felt that she might be persecuted in her home country because of her refusal to inflict genital mutilation on her baby daughter. There is a growing consensus that the best way to eliminate these practices is through educational campaigns that emphasize their dangerous health consequences. Several Governments have been actively promoting such campaigns in their countries.
New documentary, The Cut, to educate about FGM, Female Genital Mutilation
September 5, 2009
New documentary, The Cut, to educate about FGM, Female Genital Mutilation
London, UK (RPRN) 09/05/09 — Freelance journalist and photogrpaher, Linda May Kallestein, has produced a short documentary, The Cut, aimed at raising awareness of the sufferin to women caused by female genital mutilation.
The Cut is a 12 minute documentary about Mary (fourteen years old) and Alice (early twenties) from Kenya. Both are affected by the traditional rite of passage into womanhood: genital cutting.
Mary and her community are preparing for her ceremonial cutting.
Alice is studying to be a social worker to work against female genital mutilation. As the first in her community to refuse the practice, she has paid a high price for her choice to break with tradition.
Alice tells of the different myths she encounters in the community around her, as to why circumcision is practiced. Mary, on the other hand, has no voice. She just goes through the preparations and rituals in silence.
Female Genital Mutilation - FGM - affects the lives of girls and women almost all over the world. This 5000 year old African practice has migrated and has become an increasing problem in Western countries. It is condemned and outlawed.
Yet it still goes on. Often underground. In order to eradicate FGM, it is important to understand why it is practiced. This is what 'The Cut' aims to do.
'The Cut' focuses on the situation as it is in an African country. There are plans for a follow up documentary on the situation in Western countries.
Phantomfilm is the producer of both films. “The Cut” is directed by Linda May Kallestein.
The Cut has been accepted to the Stavanger Short Film Festival 2009. According to the organizers of the event, which takes place October 1 - 3, the documentary contributions this year are especially strong.
New documentary, The Cut, to educate about FGM, Female Genital Mutilation
London, UK (RPRN) 09/05/09 — Freelance journalist and photogrpaher, Linda May Kallestein, has produced a short documentary, The Cut, aimed at raising awareness of the sufferin to women caused by female genital mutilation.
The Cut is a 12 minute documentary about Mary (fourteen years old) and Alice (early twenties) from Kenya. Both are affected by the traditional rite of passage into womanhood: genital cutting.
Mary and her community are preparing for her ceremonial cutting.
Alice is studying to be a social worker to work against female genital mutilation. As the first in her community to refuse the practice, she has paid a high price for her choice to break with tradition.
Alice tells of the different myths she encounters in the community around her, as to why circumcision is practiced. Mary, on the other hand, has no voice. She just goes through the preparations and rituals in silence.
Female Genital Mutilation - FGM - affects the lives of girls and women almost all over the world. This 5000 year old African practice has migrated and has become an increasing problem in Western countries. It is condemned and outlawed.
Yet it still goes on. Often underground. In order to eradicate FGM, it is important to understand why it is practiced. This is what 'The Cut' aims to do.
'The Cut' focuses on the situation as it is in an African country. There are plans for a follow up documentary on the situation in Western countries.
Phantomfilm is the producer of both films. “The Cut” is directed by Linda May Kallestein.
The Cut has been accepted to the Stavanger Short Film Festival 2009. According to the organizers of the event, which takes place October 1 - 3, the documentary contributions this year are especially strong.
Moolaadé: Drama. Starring Fat…
September 3, 2009
By Jorge Garzón
Moolaadé: Drama. Starring Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra,Salimata Traoré, Dominique T. Zeida, Mah Compaoré, Aminata Dao and Moussa Theophile Sowie. Directed and written by Ousmane Sembene. (Not rated. 124 minutes. In Wolof, Bambara, Diola-Fogny and French with English subtitles. At the Lumiere and Rafael Film Center.)
Female genital mutilation — sometimes called female circumcision —
is often in the news for horrific reasons. Last month, after Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was shot and knifed on an Amsterdam street, his assassin left a note on the body that threatened a Dutch parliamentarian who had criticized the type of female circumcision practiced in Muslim countries. The World Health Organization estimates that upward of 140 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation.
In "Moolaadé," the great Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene explores the issue in the context of a remote West African village where a woman rebels against the practice and harbors four young girls who don't want to be cut. A standoff ensues, pitting the rebellious mother named Collé (played by Fatoumata Coulibaly) and her female supporters against the village's male elders and the women who perform the crude surgeries. Coulibaly's character invokes the spirit of sanctuary (moolaadé means "protection" in the Wolof language) to guard the girls, even as she risks widespread condemnation and a public beating from her husband.
Connected subplots, which (along with the incredible setting) help give
the film more appeal, are everywhere in "Moolaadé." Mercenaire (Dominique T. Zeida), an itinerant shopkeeper who has fought in wars, sets up his business in the village center, from where he can flirt with all the pretty women and observe the goings-on. The handsome son of the village chief (Moussa Theophile Sowie) arrives from Paris with money and modern views about TV, radio and family tradition. Collé's husband (who has two other wives) watches her rebelliousness with a mixture of sympathy and frustration, until he's driven to action by an overbearing brother who supports the ceremony that he and others consider "purification."
Religion is another subplot. The village practices Islam, and village
elders — walking around with prayer beads in their hands — insist that
female circumcision is a commandment of faith. The village mosque, a beautiful mud structure that's a miniature version of the stunning mosques that dot West Africa, overlooks the village's main square, as if God were watching the
unfolding events.
It's clear which side Sembene takes in all of this. The Collé character
is a hero of "Moolaadé," and is reminiscent of other strong women in Sembene's films, including his most recent work, "Faat Kiné," which featured a single mother who manages a gas station in Dakar. Sembene says "Moolaadé" and "Faat Kiné" are the first two parts of a three-part trilogy about "heroism in daily life." The heroism in "Moolaadé" is not always pleasant to watch. And the film can be preachy and didactic. (Sembene says he makes his films first and foremost for an African audience.) But "Moolaadé" is not a "downer" film as much as a parable that lets us see the hardships (and occasional humor) that are inherent in an environment where the slightest change in tradition is a cause for great alarm.
By Jorge Garzón
Moolaadé: Drama. Starring Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra,Salimata Traoré, Dominique T. Zeida, Mah Compaoré, Aminata Dao and Moussa Theophile Sowie. Directed and written by Ousmane Sembene. (Not rated. 124 minutes. In Wolof, Bambara, Diola-Fogny and French with English subtitles. At the Lumiere and Rafael Film Center.)
Female genital mutilation — sometimes called female circumcision —
is often in the news for horrific reasons. Last month, after Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was shot and knifed on an Amsterdam street, his assassin left a note on the body that threatened a Dutch parliamentarian who had criticized the type of female circumcision practiced in Muslim countries. The World Health Organization estimates that upward of 140 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation.
In "Moolaadé," the great Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene explores the issue in the context of a remote West African village where a woman rebels against the practice and harbors four young girls who don't want to be cut. A standoff ensues, pitting the rebellious mother named Collé (played by Fatoumata Coulibaly) and her female supporters against the village's male elders and the women who perform the crude surgeries. Coulibaly's character invokes the spirit of sanctuary (moolaadé means "protection" in the Wolof language) to guard the girls, even as she risks widespread condemnation and a public beating from her husband.
Connected subplots, which (along with the incredible setting) help give
the film more appeal, are everywhere in "Moolaadé." Mercenaire (Dominique T. Zeida), an itinerant shopkeeper who has fought in wars, sets up his business in the village center, from where he can flirt with all the pretty women and observe the goings-on. The handsome son of the village chief (Moussa Theophile Sowie) arrives from Paris with money and modern views about TV, radio and family tradition. Collé's husband (who has two other wives) watches her rebelliousness with a mixture of sympathy and frustration, until he's driven to action by an overbearing brother who supports the ceremony that he and others consider "purification."
Religion is another subplot. The village practices Islam, and village
elders — walking around with prayer beads in their hands — insist that
female circumcision is a commandment of faith. The village mosque, a beautiful mud structure that's a miniature version of the stunning mosques that dot West Africa, overlooks the village's main square, as if God were watching the
unfolding events.
It's clear which side Sembene takes in all of this. The Collé character
is a hero of "Moolaadé," and is reminiscent of other strong women in Sembene's films, including his most recent work, "Faat Kiné," which featured a single mother who manages a gas station in Dakar. Sembene says "Moolaadé" and "Faat Kiné" are the first two parts of a three-part trilogy about "heroism in daily life." The heroism in "Moolaadé" is not always pleasant to watch. And the film can be preachy and didactic. (Sembene says he makes his films first and foremost for an African audience.) But "Moolaadé" is not a "downer" film as much as a parable that lets us see the hardships (and occasional humor) that are inherent in an environment where the slightest change in tradition is a cause for great alarm.
Escaping the Somalian desert
September 4, 2009
By Keily Oakes
BBC News entertainment reporter
Desert Flower, which has premiered at the Venice Film Festival, tells the incredible journey of Waris Dirie, the model-turned-campaigner against female genital mutilation.
Although Dirie's story is full of drama - fleeing an arranged marriage at the age of 13 and eventually finding herself in London - it is the revelation that she was circumcised as a very young girl that gives the film its emotional centre.
While based on her autobiography, the movie has taken a degree of artistic licence, becoming a strange blend of drama and comedy, with star turns from Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson.
But the central message is harrowing. It is difficult to absorb that female circumcision is a practise that continues in great numbers in Africa, and around the rest of the world.
Sir Elton 'sent packing'
Dirie, who is helping to promote the film, is undoubtedly a strong woman, but also confrontational and untrusting in most things she does.
Director and screenwriter Sherry Hormann had the difficult task of persuading her that she would do her story justice.
Sir Elton John had already been sent packing with a flea in his ear after buying the rights to her story and sending along a screenwriter, to whom Dirie took an instant dislike.
With Hormann sitting next to her in Venice, Dirie does not hold back with her first reaction to seeing the film.
"This woman destroyed me," she says.
"When I had finished watching the movie I felt disturbed, I felt sad, angry, I felt really sick to my stomach. I had to run away to the desert for two weeks. It was the only way that could bring me back to sanity."
But she adds: "The movie was what I expected, to have the message, and if no-one can feel this movie I don't know what will move the hearts of the world".
Hormann interjects: "Waris originally said, 'you have to make me a promise, I do not want a solely political, female genital mutilation movie. I want to be entertained, I want young kids to see this movie and to laugh and to cry and to be entertained'.
"And I thought that was the most difficult thing she was asking me, to get that balance between drama and comedy. This is why it took so long.
Needless deaths
The actress cast to play Waris Dirie is Ethiopian-born model Liya Kebede, who is now based in the US.
This is her first lead role, having previously appeared on screen in The Good Shepherd and Lord of War.
While Dirie is a confrontational character with an unforgiving harsh manner, Kebede is sweet and gently spoken.
Speaking about the film's central message, she says: "The thing is, I grew up in Ethiopia and female cutting happens in Ethiopia - so you know a bit, but it wasn't close to me and you cannot understand it unless you have experienced it.
"So when I read the book it opened my eyes to what it is for a little girl to go through the process and live with it for the rest of her life."
A mother of two, Kebede does her own campaigning on maternal health, and has started a foundation to tackle the many thousands of needless deaths through childbirth around world because of a lack of access to basic medicine.
Kebede had encountered Dirie once at a party years before the film went into production, but her first official meeting came as shooting ended.
"I felt really awkward because I knew so much about her," she confesses, "but we bonded really well and now we have a great admiration for each other and an incredible connection."
Immigrant tradition
The scene where the young Waris is circumcised is key to the film - but also extremely difficult to watch.
For Hormann, creating the right atmosphere was important.
"It was not about doing a documentary, it was about creating a feeling," she says.
"I did a lot of research on that, because one of our promises was that this has to be the essential scene in the movie, because this is where it is all heading to."
Dirie made a powerful speech to the United Nations as she began her campaign to highlight the brutality of female genital mutilation. But she quickly fell out with the organisation, getting frustrated with its sheer size and lack of pressure on female issues.
So it was left to Hormann to give advice on what the average person can do build awareness of the problem.
"Look to your neighbourhoods, because immigrants carry the tradition. We don't live in Africa, we live in Europe. I live in Berlin and it happens in Berlin. Try and find out if they are carrying out that tradition.
"In New York City 40,000 girls a year are mutilated. I think if you get a feeling it is happening, just talk to them or call the police."
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