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DRY, Fistula, Child Marriage & Inequality | My Twitter Conversation With Ford Foundation

Posted on March 30, 2016

Hi SL Fabz!

Today, I had an interesting Twitter conversation with Ford Foundation on DRY and several issues the movie highlighted such as child marriage, inequality and Fistula.

Believe me, it was a very thorough one where questions were asked about the impact of the movie, the power of film making, the true stories that impacted the script for DRY and much more.

Here are some excerpts from the convo:

.@FordFoundation Thank you so much. I feel truly honoured. #InequalityIS

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation An obstetric fistula is a hole between the vagina and bladder /rectum. It is caused by traumatic childbirth #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation: This means that urine or feces could simply leak out of a woman’s body. There is no way to control it #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation In #Nigeria, an estimated 400k to 800k women and girls have fistula w/ 12 to 20k new cases yearly #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation Nigeria is said to be contributing over one-third to the global burden of fistula. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation Women w/ fistula are most likely to be poor, uneducated and without access to a skilled birth attendant #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation DRY is inspired by the true-life stories of several girls I have met over the years. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation: The plight of women living with Vesico Vaginal Fistula is something I’ve been drawn to for several years. #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation My research on fistula in college brought me around Nigeria and other countries #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation There I met lots of young girls who had been forced into early marriage and had Fistula. #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation Many of them shared their stories with me, which inspired the script for the film. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation There was this one girl I met, and her story blew my mind. #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation: Her name is Amina. She was married off very early, even before she became a teenager. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation: She got pregnant and had Fistula after being in labour for several days at home. #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation: Her community didn’t understand her condition. She got mocked and shunned, and her husband abandoned her. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation My character, Dr. Zara, is a successful African doctor living in Wales who had a heartbreaking childhood, #InequalityIs — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation As a young girl, Dr. Zara was raped and then she was forced into prostitution. #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation Dr. Zara also suffered from Fistula after delivering her child. But she was adopted by missionaries fr the UK #Inequali — StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

.@FordFoundation Dr. Zara is very significant in passing the overall message of hope in DRY #InequalityIs

— StephanieOkereke (@StephanieLinus) March 30, 2016

There is still so much more you have to read. Visit my twitter page HERE and the Ford Foundation twitter page HERE for more.