Tapestries of Hope
Documentary Movie: Tapestries of Hope (2010)
This was an emotionally heavy documentary to watch. I had to split it up into two parts in order to be able to emotionally handle it. The film certainly taught me some things and made me think so I am glad I watched it.
An American white woman, Michealene Cristini Risley, travels to Zimbabwe Africa to meet with Betty Makoni, an activist, and to film her organization's work: The Girl Child Network. There, certain girls are taken in to live, to start a healing process for their emotional wounds, and to be schooled. Moving to live at The Girl Child Network releases the girls from their typical culture's plans so it's controversial for them (but the idea seems perfectly reasonable to Americans).
Who are the girls? They have all been raped by men in their community who were HIV positive because the men believe that the blood of a virgin girl obtained through raping her will cure them. These girls are emotionally scarred and some have also contracted HIV during the rape.
Now you can see why this was hard to handle.
The government of Zimbabew is hostile toward actions such as outsiders coming in to film, so the filmmaker was there filming in secret. She was arrested after filming and the tapes were confiscated although they were retrieved later, and used to make this film.
The film not only discusses HIV and AIDS but medical ignorance about the cause and treatment of HIV and AIDS. The film also discusses rape and sexual abuse of girls and begs for victims to be able to heal. They feel that what the victims need is to know they have a voice and to be able to speak openly and to participate actively in their healing process.
The film makes you think about the rights of children and women in Zimbabwe versus what we American women have experienced in our lives. It made me think about third world countries and their inferior medical care and the impact that a lack of education and living in ignorance. To think that anyone would think that HIV could be eradicated from a man's body by raping a girl virgin boggles my mind.