HRW: Koromousso, Big Sister

Tickets: Free (or $10 donation to the Human Rights Watch Film Festival)

**Streaming as of March 13!**

"This film brings more than an education on a harmful traditional practice that’s still practiced in parts of West Africa - it captures the stories of solidarity among these irrepressible, strong African women." - Mausi Segun, Executive Director, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch

Content Advisory: This film contains descriptive conversations around women’s experiences of female genital mutilation.

Canada-based co-directors Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan capture personal stories and deep moments of support in a small community of women from West Africa, who are confronting social norms and embracing the inherent power in pleasure and love for their own bodies.

With candor, humour and courage, a group of African-Canadian women challenge cultural taboos surrounding female sexuality and fight to take back ownership of their bodies. Working with co-director Jim Donovan, and combining her own journey with personal accounts from some of her friends, co-director Habibata Ouarme explores the lifelong effects of female genital mutilation and the road to individual and collective healing, both in Africa and in Canada. These women begin a journey of personal discovery, with discussions on the importance of female pleasure and the complexity of the female anatomy, while working to shed long-held feelings of shame and loneliness. While finding strength and joy in their own frank and intimate conversations together, Habibata and her friends continue to advocate for wider access to restorative surgery and community conversations in Canada and worldwide.

In French with English subtitles.

Produced and Distributed: National Film Board of Canada

A post-screening discussion with HRW’s Women’s Rights Division Deputy Director Regina Tamés. Panelists include FGM survivor and filmmaker, Habibata Ouarme, filmmaker Jim Donovan and Doctor Angela Dean, OBGYN and advocate for those effected by FGM/C.