****WARNING: The following blog post contains graphic content. *****
Yesterday, we celebrated International Women's Day in Lagos by attending the African movie premiere of "Desert Flower"- a true, scarring story of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as experienced by Waris, the Somalian supermodel.
The movie was very well done in terms of character and plot development and, although the purpose of the film was to draw attention to the ghastly practice of female circumcision, the story line also followed Waris' rise from homelessness to super stardom. Beyond the striking beauty of the main character, the scene that left the deepest impression, most jarring impression on me was towards the end.... when they graphically showed an old lady mutilate the private parts of a 3 year-old-girl (playing the part of "young Waris") with a rusty razor. As the little girl screams and screams and begs and pleads, her own mother holds her down and forces her to have this life-threatening procedure so that, at the ripe age of 12, she will be considered "clean enough" to be married to a man more than 3 times her own age. According to the tradition, after having her clitoris and labia completely removed (with a rusty razor... in the middle of the desert), a young girl is completely sown up leaving a hole no larger than a match-head through which to urinate. On her wedding night, her husband will literally slice her open and force his way inside of her and then, once she has conceived a child, he will sow her back up again so that she will not be tempted to be promiscuous while the child grows within her belly. When she is ready to have the child, she is again re-opened... but only for the birth. After the birth, she is sown up, yet again, until her husband is ready to slice her open and force his way inside of her.
I hope you're shocked and more than a little disgusted. I certainly was.
Although I have read about FGM before, I have never seen such a practice taking place and, although it was "just a movie," they certainly did an excellent job making it appear 100% real and unbelievable - "Unbelievable" in the sense that women do this to other women...knowing the pain it causes, knowing that it could mean death... just so that a future husband can be guaranteed that his bride is "pure" and "not tempted to be promiscuous." This is so shameful, I don't even know where to begin. Clearly, something needs to be done to change this tradition that affects women and girls around the world.
In Nigeria, the InterAfrican Committee works to dispel the myth that a woman's private parts are the source of sin through public education and health campaigns. Of course, as I learned in graduate school, "a change in knowledge does not equal a change in behavior." Still, armed with a rather life-like, large, mannequin display of a woman's private area, the main speaker on behalf of the InterAfrican Committee made a very compelling, graphic argument against FGM and, although I'm not the target demographic, I would certainly say I was above-and- beyond convinced that this practice needs to end.
What impressed me most about the whole International Women's Day Event in Lagos was that over half of those in attendance were men. In the US, I can't think of a single "women's event" I've ever attended that had more than a handful of men standing around uncomfortably. This always makes me sad and, in truth, defeats the purpose of events dedicated to female empowerment. After all, as women, we already KNOW we, as a gender, work hard caring for our families, trying to hold down a job, and fighting against injustice and inequality and, although its comforting to know that women support one another, it won't make a damn bit of difference until men become involved too.
So what was so different about this event, here in Nigeria, that men were more than willing to come and join women in an honest look at how we can improve the standing of women worldwide?
To be honest, its all in the marketing. When we first heard about his event, we were told was that there was going to be a big, fancy movie premiere with food and "cocktails" and the first continental showing of a film about a Somalian super model. The phrase "International Women's Day" never came up... and it wasn't until we were already there that we saw the movie poster contained a small-font description about the dedication of women's organizations and "International Women's Day."
Although I find it sad that men seem to be repelled by the idea of an event dedicated to "International Women's Day," I think that the Nigerians may have stumbled onto something here. If we want men to participate in discussions and events focused on improving the plight of women worldwide, we can't make it "all about women" - we have to make it about men too. If we want men to attend a film underlining the brutality of FGM, maybe we should tell them that its about a supermodel instead. No, its not lying. Its marketing. Men don't want to sit in a dark movie theatre and be beaten over the head with graphic images and statistics.... but they DO want to watch a sexy, leggy lady strut her stuff. Sure, in order to see the sexy parts they have to watch the gruesome bits but, in the middle of the entertainment, there are facts and I think this is an effective, dare I say GENIUS way of getting men to participate in discussions on female empowerment.
Maybe American feminists can learn something here.
*******
On a personal note, I found the entire event to be not only informational but most enjoyable as I was given an extremely expensive paparazzi-style camera and told to walk around the event and take pictures of everyone. Of course, having never owned a massive, expensive, paparazzi-style camera before, it took some getting used to but, I found it was a great way to meet people. As it turns out, the second you have a large camera around your neck, everyone wants you to know who they are.... and then take their picture. On the downside, as the camera was loaned to me, the pictures aren't mine to keep so I can't show everyone how much my picture taking improved from the beginning of the night to the end - you'll just have to take my word for it. Still, I have to say, all things considered, I think I take the best pictures with my uncomplicated, pocket-sized point-and-shoot digital camera.
Happy International Women's Day.
Yesterday, we celebrated International Women's Day in Lagos by attending the African movie premiere of "Desert Flower"- a true, scarring story of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as experienced by Waris, the Somalian supermodel.
The movie was very well done in terms of character and plot development and, although the purpose of the film was to draw attention to the ghastly practice of female circumcision, the story line also followed Waris' rise from homelessness to super stardom. Beyond the striking beauty of the main character, the scene that left the deepest impression, most jarring impression on me was towards the end.... when they graphically showed an old lady mutilate the private parts of a 3 year-old-girl (playing the part of "young Waris") with a rusty razor. As the little girl screams and screams and begs and pleads, her own mother holds her down and forces her to have this life-threatening procedure so that, at the ripe age of 12, she will be considered "clean enough" to be married to a man more than 3 times her own age. According to the tradition, after having her clitoris and labia completely removed (with a rusty razor... in the middle of the desert), a young girl is completely sown up leaving a hole no larger than a match-head through which to urinate. On her wedding night, her husband will literally slice her open and force his way inside of her and then, once she has conceived a child, he will sow her back up again so that she will not be tempted to be promiscuous while the child grows within her belly. When she is ready to have the child, she is again re-opened... but only for the birth. After the birth, she is sown up, yet again, until her husband is ready to slice her open and force his way inside of her.
I hope you're shocked and more than a little disgusted. I certainly was.
Although I have read about FGM before, I have never seen such a practice taking place and, although it was "just a movie," they certainly did an excellent job making it appear 100% real and unbelievable - "Unbelievable" in the sense that women do this to other women...knowing the pain it causes, knowing that it could mean death... just so that a future husband can be guaranteed that his bride is "pure" and "not tempted to be promiscuous." This is so shameful, I don't even know where to begin. Clearly, something needs to be done to change this tradition that affects women and girls around the world.
In Nigeria, the InterAfrican Committee works to dispel the myth that a woman's private parts are the source of sin through public education and health campaigns. Of course, as I learned in graduate school, "a change in knowledge does not equal a change in behavior." Still, armed with a rather life-like, large, mannequin display of a woman's private area, the main speaker on behalf of the InterAfrican Committee made a very compelling, graphic argument against FGM and, although I'm not the target demographic, I would certainly say I was above-and- beyond convinced that this practice needs to end.
What impressed me most about the whole International Women's Day Event in Lagos was that over half of those in attendance were men. In the US, I can't think of a single "women's event" I've ever attended that had more than a handful of men standing around uncomfortably. This always makes me sad and, in truth, defeats the purpose of events dedicated to female empowerment. After all, as women, we already KNOW we, as a gender, work hard caring for our families, trying to hold down a job, and fighting against injustice and inequality and, although its comforting to know that women support one another, it won't make a damn bit of difference until men become involved too.
So what was so different about this event, here in Nigeria, that men were more than willing to come and join women in an honest look at how we can improve the standing of women worldwide?
To be honest, its all in the marketing. When we first heard about his event, we were told was that there was going to be a big, fancy movie premiere with food and "cocktails" and the first continental showing of a film about a Somalian super model. The phrase "International Women's Day" never came up... and it wasn't until we were already there that we saw the movie poster contained a small-font description about the dedication of women's organizations and "International Women's Day."
Although I find it sad that men seem to be repelled by the idea of an event dedicated to "International Women's Day," I think that the Nigerians may have stumbled onto something here. If we want men to participate in discussions and events focused on improving the plight of women worldwide, we can't make it "all about women" - we have to make it about men too. If we want men to attend a film underlining the brutality of FGM, maybe we should tell them that its about a supermodel instead. No, its not lying. Its marketing. Men don't want to sit in a dark movie theatre and be beaten over the head with graphic images and statistics.... but they DO want to watch a sexy, leggy lady strut her stuff. Sure, in order to see the sexy parts they have to watch the gruesome bits but, in the middle of the entertainment, there are facts and I think this is an effective, dare I say GENIUS way of getting men to participate in discussions on female empowerment.
Maybe American feminists can learn something here.
*******
On a personal note, I found the entire event to be not only informational but most enjoyable as I was given an extremely expensive paparazzi-style camera and told to walk around the event and take pictures of everyone. Of course, having never owned a massive, expensive, paparazzi-style camera before, it took some getting used to but, I found it was a great way to meet people. As it turns out, the second you have a large camera around your neck, everyone wants you to know who they are.... and then take their picture. On the downside, as the camera was loaned to me, the pictures aren't mine to keep so I can't show everyone how much my picture taking improved from the beginning of the night to the end - you'll just have to take my word for it. Still, I have to say, all things considered, I think I take the best pictures with my uncomplicated, pocket-sized point-and-shoot digital camera.
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| Christine takes the paparazzi-style camera for a whirl |
Happy International Women's Day.
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