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Borges will discuss his encounters with women heroes in a slide presentation this afternoon at Winona State University as part of the Frozen River Film Festival.
One of the inspiring women he met was Abay, a woman from Ethiopia who ended female genital mutilation in her tribe. The practice, sometimes called female circumcision, is widely practiced in parts of central Africa.
“It was one of their most sacred rites of passage,” Borges said. “Girls looked forward to this because that’s when they became a woman.”
When Abay was only 8, she said no to the traditional circumcision. Her mother objected, and Abay went to live with her godfather away from her village.
When she turned 18, she returned as a station agent for CARE, an international antipoverty agency that focuses on women and families. She helped supervise the building of a health clinic, a well, irrigation ditch and other things that helped the village. After five years, she had earned the trust of the women and started talking to them about female circumcision.
“It was a complete taboo to even talk about, but they trusted her,” Borges said.
The cutting had always been performed by other women. Abay persuaded one of the women to let her film the ritual and showed the tape to the male leaders.
“They were so shocked because it was done in the dirt,” Borges said. “It was so graphic.”
Two weeks later, the male leaders voted to end female genital mutilation in their village. Now Abay is working to have it eliminated in other villages as well.
“It’s a story really about women getting a voice and how important it is for all members of the community to have a voice,” Borges said.
Abay is just one of the extraordinary women Borges met. He also met Fahima, a woman who opened a clandestine school for young girls in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s reign, and Transito, who is called the Rosa Parks of Ecuador for speaking out against the plight of indigenous Ecuadorians.
Borges says it’s important to know these women’s stories.
“Women in this country have moved quite a way in the last 50 years,” Borges said.
“People might be surprised by how far developing countries lag in the movement.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “Stirring the Fire: Women Heroes at the Edge of the World,” Phil Borges discusses his project to document empowered women around the world
WHEN: 4:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Somsen Auditorium, corner of Johnson and Sanborn streets
COST: $5, or free with Frozen River Film Festival pass
INFORMATION: www.frff.org, www.bridgesweb.org
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
author unknown wrote on Jan 26, 2007 11:48 AM: