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A Country for My Daughter. A film about Women, Violence, and the Law

Franco Namibian Cultural Centre
03 December at 21:00
Entrance, N$20 at the door

In an effort to bring more awareness of Gender Violence in the country, AfricAvenir will have a screening of A Country For My Daughter, directed by Lucilla Blankenberg and produced by Janine Tilley. The film highlights the gap between South Africa’s good legislation and the real experiences of women living in that country. The audience will get an inside view into the life of Nonkosi Khumalo, a woman who imagines a safer country for her daughter and for all women in South Africa in light of her own personal experience with domestic violence and the legal system. After a fruitless attempt to report her abuse, passed off as “common assault” by the justice system, Khumalo investigates the struggle many women face when attempting to report domestic and sexual abuse in South Africa.
Nonkosi is the chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign and mother of a little girl called Owethu. She is also dedicated to the struggle for equality in South Africa, especially for women.
In A Country For My Daughter Nonkosi travels around the country investigating the stories of brave women whose court cases have transformed the law in South Africa for the better. The cases range from rape within a family to holding the Minister of Safety and Security liable, in cases where police were involved in violence against women. Through these stories, Nonkosi learns of the laws available to protect South African women and how they can be used.

In a country where many sexual assaults go unreported, the struggle must extend beyond the courtroom and into communities. Nonkosi visits Khayelitsha, where social mobilization brought justice to Nandipha Makeke’s family by prompting the arrest and prosecution of those who had raped and killed her.Blankenberg has always wanted to tell stories and found documentary film to be her ideal medium. As a member of Idol Pictures she made several films about aspects of South African society. Blankenberg is now Deputy-Director of a non-profit organization specializing in media, outreach and training, called Community Media Trust (CMT). She is also the director of Siyayinqoba Beat It!, the weekly educational TV show which is produced by CMT and broadcast on SABC 1. She is committed to the reduction of gender violence in South Africa and uses her films as a vehicle to highlight this.
Be sure not miss this thoughtful and inspiring documentary at the Franco Namibia Cultural Centre (FNCC) on 3 December at 21:00. Entrance is N$20 at the door.

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