Awa: A Mother in West Africa 200?
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Alexis Curtis and Sahelis Productions
Directed by Alexis Curtis
VHS, color, 28 min.
Jr. High - Adult
African Studies, Women's Studies
Date Entered: 09/09/2005
Reviewed by Janis Tyhurst, Reference Librarian, George Fox UniversityAwa: A Mother in West Africa is a well crafted documentary following the life of Awa Nombre and her children. It provides a view of daily life for a single African woman living in the city of Ouagadougou, Burkino Faso. Burkino Faso is a former French colony, so the film is in French with English subtitles. Visually the film is superb - well organized and with excellent English subtitles.
Awa Nombre’s first marriage was arranged. She became the fourth wife of an older man, a good friend of her father. Although opposed to the marriage, Awa obeys her father. Awa became her first husband’s favorite wife and she has four children with him. After he dies, the other three wives turned Awa and her children out. In many ways there are parallels to the struggles single working mothers here in the U.S. experience after being widowed, abandoned or divorced but without the welfare safety net. Awa starts a rice business in the marketplace to provide for her children. Later she marries another man and has two more children with him. After the second child was born, her new husband abandons her and all the children. She does not want to remarry because even at the age of 40, if she remarries, she would be expected to have more children with a new husband.
This is a wonderful resource on West African culture and customs, and beneficial to anyone working or traveling in, and studying about this part of Africa.