Until she reached university, Nigerian filmmaker Stephanie Linus had never heard of the condition obstetric fistula and was shocked to learn that more than 2 million women are estimated to live with it in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Linus set out to produce a film of raw emotion about the little-known health condition. By producing the film in Nollywood (Nigeria’s Hollywood), she could promote her message across the world’s third largest filmmaking industry.
Fistula is caused by prolonged or obstructed labor. During childbirth, when a baby’s head bears down on its mother’s pelvis for lengthy periods, the pressure can cause a hole to develop between her vaginal cavity and bladder or rectum. Without medical intervention the debilitating condition causes new mothers to leak urine or feces and prevents many women from carrying future children.
In an interview with Glendora Meikle on NPR’s Goats and Soda blog, Linus recalls the importance of dramatizing an issue that is rarely talked about outside public health circles:
“The more I researched, the more I found out that a lot of people don’t know about it. So many people that I encountered were like, ‘What are you talking about?’ So the main issue was just to bring awareness to it, and I felt a film would resonate more.”
Dry is the story of Halima, a young Nigerian girl married to a man almost 50 years her senior. After being repeatedly raped, Halima gives birth to a stillborn baby and develops a fistula, only to be abandoned by her family and shunned by her community. It’s also a story about basic human rights. Obstetric fistula disproportionately affects poor women in low-resource settings, especially malnourished mothers or young girls whose pelvic bones may be too small for a natural birth.
“I met a very young girl, and the first time I heard her story it really blew my mind. But [elements of it are] almost the same story of so many of these women, what they’ve gone through. . . . If you see this movie, we’re not just talking about fistula. My character, as a young girl, was raped and then she was forced into prostitution. There’s so many things women are vulnerable to. The life of a woman should be valued. You should be able to put the necessary laws and health care in place to actually protect them.”
Fortunately, fistula can be repaired with a delicate surgery and careful follow-up. Delaying the age of first pregnancy and timely access to obstetric care can successfully prevent the condition.
In the process of filming, Linus established her own nonprofit, Extended Hands Foundation, aimed at raising money for medical supplies and surgery.
Read Linus’ full interview on NPR’s Goats and Soda blog.
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