Sisters In Law is made by the same directors of the rather curiously fascinating 'Divorce, Iranian Style' which was as exactly as it stated, as we got a glimpse of Divorce court in Iran. Now they've turned their attention to the court system in Cameroon, Africa. What's great about this court is that 2 of the magistrates are Women, which is unusual for such a country like this. Anyways, they deal with plenty of men used to getting their way around the women, but this film is remarkable in the fact that it appears that women has made great strides in society, with divorce legal and women's rights being recognized. So the judges often chastise the men for behaving in a primitive way in these times. Not to say that the women who appear at the court get the softer treatment. One of the prime focuses of the film is a case of child abuse done by an Aunt. The judges waste no time in lashing out at the woman with fury. And who said that justice isn't served anymore? With these 2 behind the bench. They often carry out maximum penalties! Ya! You go girl!
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Spuzzlightyear18 October 2005
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A remarkable documentary about the landmark achievements of the Women Lawyers Association (WLA) of Kumba, in southwest Cameroon, in legally safeguarding the rights of women and children from acts of domestic violence. In this Muslim culture, where men have always been sovereign over women, according to Sharia law, one can well imagine the difficulty of imposing secular legal rights for women and children. After 17 years of failed efforts, leaders of the WLA began recently to score a few wins, and the purpose of this film is to share these victorious stories.
The leaders of this legal reform movement are Vera Ngassa, a state prosecutor, and Beatrice Ntuba, a senior judge (Court President). Both play themselves in this film, which may contain footage shot spontaneously, though I imagine much of it, if not all, consists of subsequent recreations of real events for the camera. Four cases are reviewed, and all of the plaintiffs also play themselves in the film.
Two cases involve repeated wife beating, with forcible sex in one case; another involves forced sex upon a 10 year old girl; and yet another concerns the repeated beatings of a child, age 8, by an aunt. One of the beaten wives also is seeking a divorce. We follow the cases from the investigation of complaints to the outcomes of the trials. The outcomes in each case are favorable to the women and children. The perpetrators receive stiff prison terms and/or fines; the divorce is granted.
The aggressive prosecution of the child beating aunt demonstrates that these female criminal justice officials are indeed gender-neutral when it comes to enforcing the law. Also noteworthy is the respect with which all parties, including those found guilty, are treated. This is a highly important and well made film. (Of interest is the fact that one of the directors, Ms. Longinotto, also co-directed the 1998 film, Divorce, Iranian Style, which dealt with related themes in Tehran.) (In broken English with English subtitles). My Grade: B+ 8/10 -
strauss-f4 March 2006Sisters in law will be released theatrically on march 24th in Sweden. A good occasion for our Nordic friends to discover this original and thoughtful documentary. It was shown in Göteborg together with a retrospective dedicated to Kim Longinotto, "director in focus" of the festival. She gave a master class, very much appreciated, telling about her method as documentary filmmaker and told the audience about the special circumstances which led her to shoot Sisters in law twice : the first version got lost for good, so a second shooting was organized and the film turned out to be different at the end. A pretty awful problem happened, in this case, to create the possibility of a very strong movie.
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gelman@attglobal.net27 August 2006This is a powerful documentary about domestic abuse in the Cameroon. The "sisters" in law are female lawyers and judges who in 2004 successfully prosecuted husbands for abusive treatment of their spouses and won one woman a divorce she desperately wanted through a Muslim council. It is rather long -- about two hours -- but fascinating in terms both of the individual plaintiffs and defendants and the lawyers who successfully represented them in court rooms presided over by female judges. It will leave you, as it left me, with many questions about exactly how this change occurred. How and when did women come to occupy positions of authority in the Cameroon? Have the several cases featured in this film had a significant effect on the treatment of women generally by their spouses? Was the granting of a divorce by a Muslim court, against the express wishes of the husband, a one time event? I'm not suggesting that the film makers could have answered these questions. They made the movie two years ago, not yesterday. And the movie they made deserves a wide audience.
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marylizah29 March 2006This amazing documentary gives us a glimpse into the lives of the brave women in Cameroun's judicial system-- policewomen, lawyers and judges. Despite tremendous difficulties-- lack of means, the desperate poverty of the people, multiple languages and multiple legal precedents depending on the region of the country and the religious/ethnic background of the plaintiffs and defendants-- these brave, strong women are making a difference.
This is a rare thing-- a truly inspiring movie that restores a little bit of faith in humankind. Despite the atrocities we see in the movie, justice does get served thanks to these passionate, hardworking women.
I only hope this film gets a wide release in the United States. The more people who see this film, the better. -
paul2001sw-121 January 2007For Muslim women in western Africa, married life at the hands of abusive husbands can be very hard . The community may not explicitly endorse such behaviour, but equally, they may not yet be ready to see it as criminal, an attitude which of course enables it to continue. Fortunately, the letter of the Cameroonian law promises equality to all, and this documentary follows the real life exploits of various female practitioners in the Cameroonian legal system as they attempt to secure justice for a number of women and children. What is notable (apart from the uplifting central story) is how, in spite of their informality, the courts are actually pragmatically progressive, if a case is actually bought. The program also gives a fascinating insight the whole Cameroonian life-style, which (aside from the awful crimes committed in the featured cases) seems amazingly emotional and joyous compared with that enjoyed by inhabitants of Europe or North America. And while I concede that this comment may betray naiveté on my part, this attitude appears to be captured in delightful pidgin-English they speak. Overall, this is a terrific little film, and much more fun to watch than you might imagine.
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bob the moo24 February 2007It is no longer acceptable to really question much about Islam because if you do you are seen as being racist and perhaps part of a bigger anti-Muslim conspiracy. To me this lack of critical review from outside and (even more lacking) within the community is not a good thing because it leaves us with pantomime arguments with extreme viewpoints in the media (eg "islam is evil", "no it isn't", "yes it is"). What this film does well then is to present situations in Cameroon where the Sharia law dominant in the villages comes up against secular law it doesn't push any anti-Sharia agenda but the viewer is left in no doubt that this type of rule as it is applied in these situations certainly offers little or no protection for women and children.
To gain insight into this conflict between the old and the new we follow two women at the top of the legal profession prosecutor Vera Ngassa and senior judge Beatrice Ntuba as they deal with a selection of cases involving child abuse and domestic abuse. I'm not sure how much of the film is a real fly-on-the-wall affair and how much has been recreated for the cameras but my gut feel is that all or the majority is real since I don't believe that the change in the child Manka could have been done as well by an actress. Lacking commentary the film "simply" documents the cases and the people involved and it is this approach that has strengths and weaknesses. The strength is that it gives us an understanding for the issues but the downside is how disjointed and messy it can often feel. This doesn't mean that it is hard to follow (it isn't) but just that it is hard to get a wider understanding of the situation outside of these few specific cases and individuals. The film still works with this but to me the lack of context and wider information it didn't give me all I would have liked.
It easy to get behind the emotional cases made by Ngassa and adjudicated by Ntuba because they do apply common sense and indignation to their approach, however without a wider understanding I was bemused by how informal and emotional the process is. The film is quite uplifting to see these cases be won in a country where domestic abuse conviction are less than a rarity but again it is a weakness that the film does not make it an ongoing thing that we appreciate the wider society that this is happening with. That said though it is still a fascinating affair and is moving and quite funny at times as well. Yes it is messy and perhaps lacks the bigger picture but it is still cheering and a welcome point of view to put alongside the view we get of life and attitudes in Africa. -
Interesting documentary on women in the legal system in Cameroon – prosecutors and judges – and how they're slowly making progress dealing with the overwhelmingly male- centric society and laws.
It's impossible not to be touched watching them deal with cases of child rape, spousal abuse, child neglect, etc. And they do so with wisdom, dignity, and sometimes humor.
We also see their more human sides, in moments dealing with the children who come to them in trouble, as well as with their own children.
My problems were that there was a feeling that everyone knew they were on stage. The presence of camera feels like it's palpably changing behavior on all sides. Also, it feels – true or not – like we're not getting the whole story on some of these cases. It feels like there is tremendous selectivity going on to present these women as almost infallible heroes.
I also can't help being disturbed by Cameroon's justice system, which leaves the finding of guilt or innocence totally up to the judge, and based on what we see here, often there is scant evidence on either side, just a 'he said, she said'.
That may be the best a country like Cameroon can do. The money for things like real forensics is a million miles away. But it still makes the film's unabashed, unquestioning admiration of these clearly terrific women feel a bit glossy.
Non-the-less, I still quite enjoyed it, felt excited by the change these women represent, and was glad to be let into a world I'd otherwise know nothing about.