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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 13 . . . . February 27, 2004
In a recent speech in Edmonton, activist Irshad Manji said that "women have the least to lose by taking the lead." The NFB film, A Score for Women's Voices, illustrates her point beautifully. Between March and October of 2000, millions of women from 161 countries took to the streets to denounce poverty and violence against women. The March of Women was an initiative of the Quebec Federation of Women. Director Sophie Bissonnette invited five filmmakers Anne Lavre Folly of Senegal; Pat Fiske and Nicolette Freeman of Australia, Deepa Dhanraj of India; and Carmen Guarini of Ecudador to film the marches as well as one innovative project. The result is a fast paced hour and a half that feels a little like a roller coaster ride around the world. The movie opens in Quebec, then quickly shows scenes from marches in Belgium, Mozambique, Japan, and many other locales around the world. At first, the subtle differences are most obvious. Compared to the loud strident shouts of women in Belgium, the march in Japan looks almost funereal as the women quickly and solemnly walk the street carrying signs and flowers. However, the film then moves to specifics. The personal stories from women around the world reinforce that whatever differences lie between us, one thing is clear: women are tired of societies and governments that don't listen and are ready to take things into their own hands. The film offers another lesson in the personal being political. In Africa, one friend confides to another the horrors of genital excision, her action resulting in the women in the village meeting secretly to discuss this "taboo" subject. In Mozambique, the women decide to open a literacy centre in every village because, "to educate a girl is [to] educate a nation." In Australia, a women's circus teaches survivors of sexual assault to become skilled performers. In India, a group of lower caste women, frustrated by the lack of action of their court system to protect their interests, form their own court and go on to hear over 700 cases in 150 villages. One scene of a divorce being mediated is one of the most powerful scenes in the film. These personal stories speak louder than any statistics or newspaper articles. The film depicts women around the globe performing, to paraphrase Gloria Steinem, everyday outrageous acts, in an attempt to change their world. In Colombia, while their (male) driver crosses himself frantically, a group of women risk their lives to cross combat zones at night in order to take part in a march. One of the most humbling scenes takes place in Boston where the founder of Survivors Inc. provides information and support to women on welfare. A founder and former welfare mom speaks of her disbelief that, thirty years after the consciousness raising of the 70's, so little has changed. In United States, there are more shelters for animals than for battered women and their children. Women who want to provide a better life for their children are told they must leave jobs in order to qualify for assistance, while others find themselves with no way out of their situation. One has only to imagine how bad things are now in George Bush's America. Throughout, song and music are a backdrop to these voices. Often the song is made up of the voices of the women themselves, singing, chanting, or yelling. There is hope mixed with the anger and desperation. As one woman said, "We're not about raising hell, we're about lowering heaven." The film closes with women delivering five million cards signed during the marches to the UN. Their goal? Simply to change the world. The film is beautifully made, though a bit jumpy at first. Captions help the viewer to keep up. At 86 minutes, the film may be too long for some intermediate students and the issues raised are painful. However, A Score for Women's Voices has no false notes and may lead others to pick up the song. The film has some subtitles and is available in French as Partition pour voix de femmes. Highly Recommended. Liz Greenaway has worked in bookselling and publishing and now lives in Edmonton, AB.
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