An Exclusive Conversation With H.E Amira Elfadil on the Saleema Initiative

Films, a Powerful Way To Shine The light

Films are a great way to tell a story, while opening our eyes to the lives and experiences of things affecting us. Movies on

FGM have been produced by many activists to help raise awareness on such practices and to showcase some of the actions others further shine the light.

To generate awareness on those hidden consequences resulting from FGM practices, to pass the message to the general public, particularly within the African communities where the archaic practices still prevail. UNFPA and other private funders have sponsored the production of such films to keep the movement alive

We’ve put together a list of some movies from Africa you can watch to learn more about FGM and GbV. ETHIoPIA

The breathtaking film tackles FGM In an effort to campaign for the urgent need to take action to help end FGM. The UNPF, collaborated with talented Toronto-based filmmaker sara Elgamal to produce a stunning documentary film, ‘ A Piece of Me’, that focuses on the stories of three Ethiopian women, Zahra, Abida and Khadija, who refuse to be defined by their past traumas of FGM . In Ethiopia, FGM affects 65% of women and girls today.

The Afar region where Zahra, Abida and Khadija live is one of two regions where prevalence remains high at 91%. It was evident that sara successfully covered this difficult subject in a powerful,

a Girl From Mogadishu

soMAlIA

A Girl from Mogadishu is the story of how real-life social activist Ifrah Ahmed “came to understand, develop, and employ the most potent of campaign tools, her own true story, and use it to an empowering and extraordinary effect.”

Fleeing war-torn somalia in 2006, Ahmed (played in the movie by Aja Naomi King) is trafficked to Ireland where a traumatic medical examination when she seeks asylum reveals the extent of her genital mutilation as a child. Traumatised by the memory, she channels the experience into a force for change. Ahmed is now one of the world’s leading international activists against GbV and FGM

“A Girl From Mogadishu is based on my story, but it is also the story of the 200 million women and girls worldwide who have suffered the consequences of FGM,” said Ahmed. “And while the movie is intended to focus attention on the barbarity and scale of the practice, its ambition is also to empower all young women and girls to have the courage to stand up and speak out.” yet delicate way. The campaign and breathtaking film was unquestionably successful in sparking heavy conversations around an issue that affects the lives of millions of women and girls, as well as conversations we either feel ashamed to discuss or, intentionally or unintentionally forget about.

powerful statement from King, as Ahmed: “Whether black or white, we are all women. Women who are entitled to the same human rights, no matter where we come from”.

Dry

NIGERIA

Dry is a Nigerian drama directed by stephanie okereke-linus and based on true life accounts, focusing on the impacts of child marriage. The film centers on the story of a 13-yearold girl, Halima (Zubaida Ibrahim Fagge), whose poor uneducated parents marry her off to sani (Tijjani Faraga), a 60 year old man who frequently rapes her in the so-called marriage.

Halima becomes pregnant and suffers Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) after child delivery. she starts to experience continuous lack of voluntary control over her urination, and consequently,

is abandoned by her husband and discriminated against in her community.

Zara (stephanie okereke), a medical doctor who had a similarly traumatic childhood, meets Halima and tries to help her and other young women and girls facing similar experiences.

The Ford Foundation supported film was awarded overall best Movie at the 2016 AMVC Awards. The wide global media coverage of the film is helping to drive important conversations about gender inequality in Nigeria and beyond. Every day, 6,000 girls from the Horn of Africa to sub-saharan nations are subjected to FGM. With fierce determination and deep love for their communities, brave African activists are leading a formidable, fearless grassroots movement to end 5,000 years of FGM. An insightful look at the frontlines of a quiet revolution taking the continent by storm, this extraordinarily powerful film is one of the first to focus on African solutions to FGM.

‘our Voices Matter’

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For decades, the DRC has experienced war and widespread insecurity. Women and girls are the most affected in this instability, as with many crises. According to the NGo Mercy Corps, 1 in 10 women and girls in the DRC experienced sexual violence in 2016.

our Voices Matter, a 2012 film co-produced by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and advocating against GbV, features women and girls from North Kivu, south Kivu, and Province orientale who have experienced sexual violence and come forward to tell their stories. The film is a call to action, demanding justice, medical and economic assistance, and the effective implementation of legislation to prevent and address sexual and GbV.

The Grassroots Movement to End FGM

A film by Paula Heredia, Produced by Equality Now

Actions against FGM is not limited to activists and those who have been affected, we should all join in to contribute and send out clear and consistent messages across our network. Whatever medium we feel comfortable using should be used to create awareness and sensitise our community. Beautifully directed by emmy Award® winner Paula Heredia and produced by equality Now, AFRICA RISING travels through remote villages in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Somalia and tanzania.

Weaving together dynamic footage and the poignant stories of girls personally affected by FGM, it shows how African women and men are putting an end to this human rights violation.

Convincing circumcisers to lay down their knives, engaging the police to implement the law, and honing leadership skills in girls, these determined activists have been working tirelessly for years to conceptualize their campaign. AFRICA RISING paints an intimate portrait of the broadly-based but littleknown anti-FGM movement and shows that courageous, creative and resourceful individuals can change the course of history.

another War

lIbERIA

Produced in liberia, Another War examines the critical issues around sexual GbV. The compelling documentary highlights the voices of rape survivors, frontline health workers, emerging women activists, liberia’s chief prosecutor for sexual assault crimes, the Minister of Justice, and the Gender Ministry’s GbV Unit, among others

‘Another War’ follows 20 year old liberian university student Kula Fofana on her journey as she seeks to explore the experiences and realities of victims of physical and sexual violence in liberia, and to examine the beliefs and causes surrounding sexual and physical GbV.