“Handful of Ash” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHX0oKILGJY
“Handful of Ash” is one of the best and most powerful examples of the potential of storytelling. I have come across throughout my exploration of the role of narrative in anti-FGM campaigns and I believe that it transcends other narrative approaches used by anti-FGM campaigns. “Handful of Ash” is a documentary film that changed the lives of tens of millions of women worldwide and the lives of many women in the Iraqi Kurdistan. This documentary evolved from the work of the two filmmakers and WADI – a German-Iraqi NGO dedicated to eliminating FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan and was an attempt to raise awareness about FGM in Kurdistan (End FGM Kurdistan, 2013). The two filmmakers, Shara Amin and Nabaz Ahmed, started making this documentary in an attempt to investigate the effects of FGM on the Kurdish practicing community but its impact far exceeded its expected results. This film successfully culminated a change in the law after it was shown in the Kurdish parliament and as a result the number of shows that the number of girls being cut has fallen dramatically – in some places more than 60 percent Iraqi Kurdistan. In addition, partly as a result of this worthwhile film alone, the number of girls being genitally mutilated in the villages and towns of Iraqi Kurdistan has fallen by more than half in the last five years. The narrative approach employed in this documentary is distinct and powerful for many reasons. First, the documentary does not merely describe the practice as a harmful or attack the practicing communities. Second, this documentary is not one sided and it represents the views of both proponents and opponents of the practice. To clarify, this documentary presents the opinions of those in favor of the practice such as those of a religious speaker who told the filmmakers that FGM is a duty and “it is spiritually pure” and a midwife who said that she would still be performing FGM for Islam. Finally, this documentary was a success because it engaged both practicing communities, affected population, and policymakers in an effective dialogue. The policymakers attention was drawn to this documentary because of the fair and honest representation of the stories of the victims. By watching the documentary and by listening to the stories of the victims of FGM policymakers became not only listeners but also storytellers because they took part in the interpretation of the stories. Members of the parliament in Kurdistan established a law banning the practice. This documentary is relevant to what we learned this semester about the power of storytelling. It is a good example of how storytelling can help highlight differences among women and avoid and overemphasis on similarities between them.
ReplyDelete“Handful of Ash”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHX0oKILGJY
“Handful of Ash” is one of the best and most powerful examples of the potential of storytelling. I have come across throughout my exploration of the role of narrative in anti-FGM campaigns and I believe that it transcends other narrative approaches used by anti-FGM campaigns. “Handful of Ash” is a documentary film that changed the lives of tens of millions of women worldwide and the lives of many women in the Iraqi Kurdistan. This documentary evolved from the work of the two filmmakers and WADI – a German-Iraqi NGO dedicated to eliminating FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan and was an attempt to raise awareness about FGM in Kurdistan (End FGM Kurdistan, 2013). The two filmmakers, Shara Amin and Nabaz Ahmed, started making this documentary in an attempt to investigate the effects of FGM on the Kurdish practicing community but its impact far exceeded its expected results. This film successfully culminated a change in the law after it was shown in the Kurdish parliament and as a result the number of shows that the number of girls being cut has fallen dramatically – in some places more than 60 percent Iraqi Kurdistan. In addition, partly as a result of this worthwhile film alone, the number of girls being genitally mutilated in the villages and towns of Iraqi Kurdistan has fallen by more than half in the last five years.
The narrative approach employed in this documentary is distinct and powerful for many reasons. First, the documentary does not merely describe the practice as a harmful or attack the practicing communities. Second, this documentary is not one sided and it represents the views of both proponents and opponents of the practice. To clarify, this documentary presents the opinions of those in favor of the practice such as those of a religious speaker who told the filmmakers that FGM is a duty and “it is spiritually pure” and a midwife who said that she would still be performing FGM for Islam. Finally, this documentary was a success because it engaged both practicing communities, affected population, and policymakers in an effective dialogue. The policymakers attention was drawn to this documentary because of the fair and honest representation of the stories of the victims. By watching the documentary and by listening to the stories of the victims of FGM policymakers became not only listeners but also storytellers because they took part in the interpretation of the stories. Members of the parliament in Kurdistan established a law banning the practice.
This documentary is relevant to what we learned this semester about the power of storytelling. It is a good example of how storytelling can help highlight differences among women and avoid and overemphasis on similarities between them.