Moolaadé [SEP] director
Moolaadé
Moolaadé ("magical protection") is a 2004 film by the Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène. It addresses the subject of female genital mutilation, a common practice in a number of African countries, from Egypt to Nigeria. The film was a co-production between companies from several Francophone nations: Senegal, France, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was filmed in the remote village of Djerrisso, Burkina Faso. The film argues strongly against the practice, depicting a village woman,
have her genitals cut to secure her social status and marriage acceptance, but Collé remains unmoved. She is willing to protect not only her daughter from the life-threatening genital cutting but also four little girls who join her to refuse the practice. Collé draws a symbolic line, the colorful rope "Moolaadé", a "magical protection," across the gate of the family's premises. "Moolaadé" prevents the women elders who carry out the practice, and who have been searching for the girls, from entering the