International Day to End Obstetric Fistula : Habiba by/de Sena Calmine Agbofoun (Benin)

 International Day to End Obstetric Fistula 

Habiba : a/un film by/de Sena Calmine Agbofoun (Benin) 

UNITED NATIONS: No woman or girl should have to endure obstetric fistula. The devastating condition, which is caused by complications during childbirth, results in pain, isolation and indignity – and yet is entirely preventable and treatable. This year's theme, “Her health, her right: Shaping a future without fistula,” underscores a powerful truth: that every woman and girl has the fundamental right to health—particularly sexual and reproductive health—and that the continued existence of obstetric fistula is a clear violation of that right. Ending fistula would improved maternal health and well-being overall and is essential to achieving universal health coverage. To build a future free of fistula, we must empower women and girls to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. High-quality, comprehensive care should be a right enjoyed by all—regardless of geography, income, or status. Effective and inclusive solutions must be grounded in the lived experiences of women, particularly those who have survived fistula. Their voices are essential in shaping policies and services that are rights-based and culturally sensitive. When community health workers, survivors, and informed leaders come together, they can challenge stigma, break down discriminatory norms, and spark real, lasting change. https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-fistula-day

[English]

A short conversation with Sena Calmine Agbofoun

Sena, talk a bit about your film and why you chose this topic.

Habiba is a short film that focuses on the problems stemming from obstetric fistula, which affects hundreds and hundreds of women in Africa and in my country, Benin. It is my cri de cœur demanding to stop demonizing the condition and offer assistance.

For this reason I decided to tell a true story of a woman who I met in 2014 who had contracted fistula and was healed. This is the motivation for the film Habiba.

You speak about the demonization of this condition. Why this attitude regarding this illness?

In fact, the condition is not recognised as an illness. It is regard instead as a curse resulting from a woman’s infidelity. Therefore, women with fistula are repudiated by their husbands, abandoned by their own family, and are forced to live in seclusion. 

[Français]

Une petite conversation avec Sena Calmine Agbofoun

Sena, parle un peu de ton film et pourquoi tu as choisi ce sujet. 

HABIBA est un court métrage sur la problématique de la fistule obstétricale qui condamne encore des centaines et des centaines de femmes en Afrique et chez moi au Bénin. C'est mon cri de cœur pour demander à ce qu'on arrête de diaboliser la maladie et qu'on vienne en aide.

Pour cela, j'ai décidé de raconter une histoire vraie, d'une femme fistuleuse guérie que j'ai rencontrée en 2014. Voilà d'où est parti HABIBA

Tu parles de la diabolisation de la fistule obstétricale, pourquoi cette attitude envers cette maladie ?

La maladie en fait, n'est pas reconnue comme étant une maladie. On l'assimile plutôt à une malédiction due à l'infidélité de la femme. Les femmes "fistuleuses" sont alors répudiées par leur mari, délaissées par leur propre famille, et sont obligées de vivre en recluse.

Synopsis

[English]

Habiba, a fourteen-year-old student with a bright future, is removed from school and force to marry an old man named Ambaliou. She endures a difficult pregnancy and an excruciating delivery. After which a terrible ordeal befalls upon her; she contracts obstetric fistula. Rejected by her family, Habiba takes refuge in the forest from which she is then taken away and sent to hospital. Ten years later, healed but living in seclusion, she finds the courage to tell her story, to give hope to the hundreds of women affected by this condition.

[Français]
Habiba, jeune fille de quatorze ans, avait l’avenir devant elle. Déscolarisée et mariée de force au vieux Ambaliou, elle connait une grossesse difficile et un accouchement pénible. Commence alors pour elle, un calvaire sans nom : la fistule obstétricale. Rejetée par sa famille et ses proches, Habiba se réfugie dans la forêt d’où elle sera tirée et envoyée à l’hôpital. Dix ans plus tard, guérie mais vivant en recluse, elle trouve pourtant le courage de raconter son histoire, pour redonner espoir aux centaines de femmes affectées par cette pathologie.