2011-00682

The movie, Moolaade, tackles the taboo topic of female genital mutilation. Set in an
African village, the movie starts with the six young girls escaping from the purification
ceremony where their genitals will be mutilated. Four of them begged for the protection
of Colle, the movies protagonist, after hearing that she refused to have her daughter,
Amsatou, cut years before. Colle ordered for a rope to be tied across the entrance of their
home. This symbolizes the moolaade or magical protection to prevent people who mean
harm from entering their home.
Although there were a lot of women in their village who were against purification,
they were afraid of speaking out against this tradition for fear of being ostracized.
Amsatou had even asked to be cut because people in the village were saying that she was
not worthy to be the wife of tribe leaders son, Ibrahima. Colle explained that this
practice can lead to severe consequences. First, girls can die from this practice. Even if
the girls survive, they might experience pain when urinating or having sexual intercourse.
This was depicted in a flashback wherein while having sex, Colle had to bite her finger to
keep her from crying out in pain. After, the blanket that she had laid on had blood.
Finally, it could also affect ones pregnancy. Colle had two miscarriages before Amsatou.
Amsatou lived because Colle had a caesarean section to get the former out of the womb.
Fortunately, because of his education and exposure to the modern world, Ibrahima didnt
care about being unpurified and affirmed Amsatou as his fianc.
Colles husband was ordered by his brother to hurt Colle, so that she will say the
word that will release the moolaade. The scene where her husband whipped her in front
of everyone was one of my favorites because it showed how Colle was determined to
protect the four girls from getting cut. Even though it was clear that shes hurt and
embarrassed, she was risking her physical well-being and her status in their tribe to
change the dominant culture in their tribe. Some women shouted words of support, while
some shouted for her to revoke the moolaade. While this was happening, the mother of
one of the girls took her from Colles home and had her purified. Because of this, the girl
died. On the other hand, the merchant intervened in Colles whipping, thus he was driven
out of the village and killed.

The women finally realized how dangerous the purification was. This scene
became my favorite because they united against this practice and showed the elders that
they wouldnt let them touch the future girls in the tribe. They confiscated the knives that
the elders used and rejoiced in triumph. Colles husband even defended her against the
other male elders and said that it takes more than a pair of balls to make a man. Colles
efforts had clearly paid off. Unfortunately, the radios of the women were confiscated as
well because the men thought that this was the reason why the women were acting
rebelliously. The movie ends with the burning of the womens radios and the knives: a
symbol of both a win and loss for the women.
Two characters that I found interesting were Colle and her husband. Against all
the traditions and judgment of their tribe, Colle remain steadfast in her will to not let the
four girls be cut. It took guts to fight the norms of their society which has been around for
many years, but she was able to change things and save the lives of the future girls in
their tribe. On the other hand, I found Colles husband interesting since he was a sound
and reasonable man. Even if he hit Colle, it was clear that it wasnt his will. He was just
forced to do so by his brother. Finally, near the end of the movie, he also gained the
courage to stand up to his elders and support Colle.
The movies central theme and cause of conflict, female genital mutilation, is a
serious gender issue. This has caused the deaths of quite a number of girls because those
who practice this see it as a matter of biology when it is just culture. This tradition of the
tribe was one example of a social process that Lorber (2003) discussed. A girl needs to go
through this to be considered a woman who was good enough to be married. The woman
does not have control over her what happens to her body. She is subject to the judgment
of society and must perform the role that is dictated by history. Butler (1988) discussed
that just because of their sex; women are reduced to performative acts that dictate how
they are supposed to act and what they are supposed to look way because of the historical
idea of what it is to be a woman. Thus, when one moves away from this ideal woman,
she is considered as an outlier and is treated as such.
Also, gender issues such as the subordination and oppression of women,
patriarchy, and censorship were also shown in the movie. Women were considered as
docile bodies (Foucalt in Bartky 2003) and were expected to follow whatever the men

say. Even though men and women are essentially the same, the differences between them
are emphasized and turned into social facts by social practices that have been passed
down by each generation (Lorber 1993). The women had to get rid of the radios that were
their access to better knowledge because the men said so. Even though the women in the
tribe were able to stop the perpetuation of the tradition of female genital mutilation, they
were still dominated by the men. Bentham, as cited by Bartky (2003), showed that the
women were still docile bodies trapped in a prison that prevented them from coordinating
with each other.
The movie showed me that there is hope to fight against the dominant ideologies
we have today. It only takes a critical actor to stand up to fight for what is right, as clich
as it may sound. There is a chance for us to change what society dictates we must do and
how it expects us to act. People must be enlightened to the fact that we are only born as
male or female, but not masculine or feminine (Bartky 2003). We must first educate
people because having the knowledge can bring more awareness of the inequalities
present in society. This is the first step towards the greater goal of gender equality and
empowerment. All in all, Ive learned that although we are restricted to the gender roles
that are assigned to us today, we must not forget to be true to ourselves because this could
be the key to the change that we want to see.
References:
Butler, Judith. 1998. Performance Acts and Gender Constitution. Theater Journal 4 (4):
519-531. Available at
http://www.flimmer.nu/sites/default/files/butlerPerformance.pdf.
Lorber, Judith. 2003. Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology. In the Politics of
Womens Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance and Behavior, ed. Rose Weitz, New
York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.12-24
Bartky, Sandra Lee. 2003. Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal
Power. In the Politics of Womens Bodies Sexuality, Appearance and Behavior,
ed. Rose Weitz, New York and Oxford:Oxford University Press. pp. 25-46.