Powerful Film About Pregnancy And Birth In Rural Ethiopia
“If my parents had been educated they would have educated me too” the reflective sentiment of the main character Huluager Endeshaw (25) who left school after 6 th grade and was unable to continue her education despite her wish to do so. She reflects on her life today and that of those of her friends who did finish school. Instead she was unhappily married off as a teen into a loveless marriage and had given birth to 4 children by the time she was 25.
The film is set in the village of Megendi near Gondar where maternity care is changing; traditional midwives still deliver babies at homes but there is pressure for women to use the local clinic. In the field of these tensions between traditional and modern midwifery, the conflicts of women in Ethiopia’s changing society come to light.
Caught in the midst of the shift, the film explores how a community of women decide how best to provide for expectant mothers. The film revolves around pregnant Huluager who weighs what is expected of her against what she needs, bringing past pain to the surface. Working through her discomfort, she finds solace in her fellow women. As the story unfolds, Hulu weighs her life today and what she has lost and what she wants in the future and makes the decision to change the direction of her life rather than just accept a life unfulfilled, aside from the love she clearly has for her children. The film depicts the challenges facing rural women on many levels.
“If my parents had been educated they would have educated me too” the reflective sentiment of the main character Huluager Endeshaw (25) who left school after 6 th grade and was unable to continue her education despite her wish to do so. She reflects on her life today and that of those of her friends who did finish school. Instead she was unhappily married off as a teen into a loveless marriage and had given birth to 4 children by the time she was 25.
The film is set in the village of Megendi near Gondar where maternity care is changing; traditional midwives still deliver babies at homes but there is pressure for women to use the local clinic. In the field of these tensions between traditional and modern midwifery, the conflicts of women in Ethiopia’s changing society come to light.
Caught in the midst of the shift, the film explores how a community of women decide how best to provide for expectant mothers. The film revolves around pregnant Huluager who weighs what is expected of her against what she needs, bringing past pain to the surface. Working through her discomfort, she finds solace in her fellow women. As the story unfolds, Hulu weighs her life today and what she has lost and what she wants in the future and makes the decision to change the direction of her life rather than just accept a life unfulfilled, aside from the love she clearly has for her children. The film depicts the challenges facing rural women on many levels.
Among Us Women, written and directed by Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, co-directed by Daniel Abate Tilahun. Efuye Gela Films (Addis Ababa) is further engaged with this powerful film in an impact campaign addressing health, education, policy professionals and their target groups. The impact campaign aims to foster conversations between communities, midwives, health professionals, medical institutes, and health education centers to bring lasting solutions to the gaps of understanding between communities and the health professionals that serve them.
