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Film for Social Change: The Diégoune Call to Action
In early 2008, in the heart of the Casamance (Southern Senegal), the community members of the village of Diégoune collectively decided to abandon the tradition of
female genital cutting (FGC). The effort necessary to get the entire community to agree to a new tradition—that of not cutting—was considerable. First there was the participation of roughly 60 community members in Tostan’s
Community Empowerment Program (CEP). Simultaneously, there was the formation of Diégoune’s
Community Management Committee (CMC) and active outreach from Diégoune’s CMC to neighboring communities. Then the class participants from the CEP traveled to neighboring villages where they performed skits, sang songs, and recited poetry all in order to share with their neighbors the themes and information that the Diégoune community members learned in the CEP. Add to that the careful organization and outreach of numerous CMCs from Diégoune and neighboring villages to unite all of the communities in the social network to also
abandon FGC.
But Diégoune didn’t stop there.
Diégoune continued its effort to actively promote and protect the human rights of women and girls. In the spring of 2008, Diégoune partnered with the organizations Tostan and Respect (Belgium) to create,
Walking the Path of Unity, a film about the community’s decision to abandon FGC. The film was shot in and around Diégoune from May to October 2008 and gives a voice to key players in the movement for the abandonment of FGC in this area. From the rice fields to the central square of the village to the local mosque, men and women explain with pride the reasons and events that led to the community’s decision to abandon a traditional practice that they came to understand was threatening the well-being of their children.
What is unique about this film is not only the directors—Diégoune community members—but also the intended audience. While most films about traditional practices are created by outsiders to educate or inform audiences different from that of the subject of the film, Diégoune’s film was created to share with other Diola communities why Diégoune chose to abandon FGC. The film, titled
Buru
bújojenuma sísukas (
The Diégoune Call to Action:
Walking the Path of Unity
) is entirely in Diola, the language of
Diégoune.
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Community members from
Diégoune sing in
celebration of human rights. |
Projections in Senegal
Since May 2009,
Walking the Path of Unity has been shown every evening in a different village in the Casamance region, thanks to the expert training that
Cinema
Numérique Ambulant
provided to Tostan’s staff who travel to each village to project the film. The showing begins with the black and white comedy sketches by Buster Keaton
. For most viewers, the film screening is the first time they have ever seen a movie on a big screen. The funny skits of
Buster Keaton trigger howls of laughter from children and adults in the audience, creating a relaxed atmosphere in which to address the issue of FGC. After the comedy skits,
Call to Action opens with a deep voice well known in the Casamance, that of Bacary Tamba, a Diola leader who led the Tostan program in the region ten years ago.
Walking the Path of Unity illustrates a respectful, community-based, non-judgmental methodology. The film does not include offensive images or distant authorities in an attempt to scare or threaten communities into change. Instead, the film shares the individual stories and perspectives of ordinary people: a mother, a father, an Imam, a teacher, a doctor, a husband. The experiences shared by these individuals are all familiar to Diola communities and that familiarity contributes to the film’s ability to create a starting point for the dialogue and public debate necessary to bring about a large-scale, permanent change.
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Tostan staff setting up projection equipment. |
At each projection, at least one person featured in the film, as well as social mobilization leaders who took part in the Tostan program, present the film and lead the audience in a group discussion after the showing. Informal dialogues, such as these, help to build consensus and encourage communities to raise issues and identify their own solutions. Like the film, the discussions that follow showings are framed by the fundamental values of people, such as health, unity, and solidarity.
Aruna Sane, who was part of the creation of the film, accompanies the projection team as a discussion facilitator. He
calls on Diégoune, the surrounding villages in Casamance and the world to keep up the momentum:
Today, we go forward! Let us promote healthy communities! We call on our brothers in Africa, Europe, and America to rally. Let's join hands for the welfare of our children!
Follow one of the links below to hear an account of the projection of
Walking the Path of Unity in the village of Banga Diacoye in May 2009:
Download the story in English.
Download the story in French.
Download the story in Spanish.
Community members from
Diacoye
Banga watching
Walking the Path of Unity.
Diégoune’s vision for the reach of the film does not stop with the Diola communities in the Casamance. At the request of Diégoune’s residents, Tostan France is helping to show
Walking the Path of Unity in cities and towns in Europe where Diola families are living. The goal in doing this is to enable the entire Diola community, wherever they are, to participate in the collective decision to protect the welfare of their children.
International Film Screenings:
Cinéma Vérité
and UNICEF Support
Walking the Path of Unity
Cinéma Vérité has selected
Walking the Path of Unity for the 2009 International Tribute in
Paris and
Geneva. The film was shown during this tribute to illustrate
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number five: to improve maternal health. Cinéma Vérité calls on its donors and the general public to participate in the movement for the protection of human rights, health, and the abandonment of FGC.
In the fall of 2009, UNICEF organized the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with an international film festival to take part in all of its committees and offices.
Walking the Path of Unity was selected to be screened in several countries in Europe, Africa, and the Americas to demonstrate the strength of collective decisions for social change and the protection of the rights and health of girls.
Return Diégoune’s Call!
Today, thanks to our partners, we have raised funds to project the film in 70 villages in the Casamance.
With a small donation, you can help us cover the cost of bringing the film to more communities. Just $220 (
150 Euros) will cover the cost to project the film in a new village!
You can also help us spread the film in Europe amongst the Diola community by circulating information about the movie.
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