Educational Media Reviews Online

This film deals with the status of women among the West African Soninke people who reside in Mauritania. Women do most of the work in this society: including cultivating crops, cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, making house repairs, and collecting water. The men by comparison do very little. They spend a good deal of time sitting, and when they are not they might occupy their time by building fences or butchering livestock. This is a male dominated society, and men have almost absolute control over the affairs and movements of their wives and children. Women often complain of how men control their lives, and of the very little work their husbands do, though most feel there is nothing they can or should do about it. There are many women however, who are fighting to improve their position in society, and do so not only for themselves, but for their daughters as well.

The viewer discovers that the condition of Soninke women is not only harmful to them, but to society as a whole. The status of women leaves them either under-educated or uneducated, especially as regards reproduction. Men demand that their wives bear many children, because it is seen there as a sign of male virility. Mauritania has a serious overpopulation problem however, as does the rest of Africa, and it is draining scarce resources. Women's lack of knowledge about birth control, and their husband's demands for ever more children, are exacerbating this problem. The negative health and human rights implications of female circumcision, which is common in Soninke society, are also explained. There are those among the Soninke who want to better the condition of women in their society, and are doing so with the help of Peace Corps volunteers. The steps they are taking to achieve that goal, and the obstacles they face, are examined. Many of them believe that women's lives in that part of Mauritania are improving, albeit very gradually, and will continue to do so in the future.

Some viewers may consider the characterizations in this film to be unnecessarily biased against Soninke men and their culture. They might maintain that the film fails to fully portray or understand the division of labor between the sexes as it exists among the Soninke, and that the filmmakers are trying to impose western standards on a non-western society. The filmmakers themselves readily admit that the society portrayed is relatively free of drug abuse, alcoholism, loneliness and crime. It is stable and family based, and all of its resources are equally shared among its members. All of these factors combined, may make the film controversial in certain circles.

This film is only 15 minutes long, but is surprisingly informative for its short length. It moves at a crisp pace, is understandable and compelling. An informative narration is provided, and the interviews given are translated into English when the person shown is not already speaking in that language. There are no subtitles. The audio and video quality is good. Students studying women's issues, African history, African affairs, anthropology or sociology will find this film the most useful. It is equally suitable for those at a high school, undergraduate, or graduate level. Because of its short length, it may be best used as a supplement to other resources on this subject, or as an introduction to it.

Highly Recommended