Reflections on IIFF Bulawayo

The issue of female sexuality is often swept under the carpet but when a film that looks at female sexuality is screened, more often than not, the discussion can be both thought provoking and eye opening. Such was the case at the Amakhosi Cultural Centre and at the Bulawayo American Corner when the Kenyan/ Ugandan Film...

By Mgcini Nyoni

The issue of female sexuality is often swept under the carpet but when a film that looks at female sexuality is screened, more often than not, the discussion can be both thought provoking and eye opening. Such was the case at the Amakhosi Cultural Centre and at the Bulawayo American Corner when the Kenyan/ Ugandan Film THE CUT was screened to 45 and 22 film lovers respectively. The screenings took place on 21st and 22nd of February courtesy of the United States of America Public Affairs Section.

Directed by Award winning filmmaker Beryl Magoko, THE CUT follows the story of several young girls and women who have gone through Female Genital Mutilation. The film shows that after being circumcised, the young girls are deemed ready for marriage and hence are not allowed to go back to school. Anti-Female Genital Mutilation speakers in the film rail against “illiterate parents” who do not see the value of educating a girl, so that they circumcise and marry off daughters who might have wanted to continue with their studies. From a medical perspective, very often this procedure results in severe complications with pregnancy as well as sexual dysfunction.

The audience at both venues questioned why women should be circumcized to please the male partner in bed. The discussion took another dimension when women present pointed out that despite such cultural practices, men will still leave their wives for small houses. Some even rape young girls.

What I found particularly interesting is the dimension the discussion took towards the end. The audience in Bulawayo questioned why we do not show our own locally produced films to which I quickly responded by saying that it is us who have the content and so it is high time we started putting those stories into film. So what came to my mind is that perhaps we need to dare and explore a film on labia minora elongation, which is also classified as FGM 4 by The World Bank. This is more common in Zimbabwe than cutting and I am sure this would generate interesting debate from the young and old generations. Another cultural saga.