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Poto Mitan

 

Told through the stories of five Haitian women, this documentary explored how Haitian women were the "pillars of the global economy", but were not given equal rights in a male-dominated society. Even though the society was built on the backs of women, they were never given the recognition or time of day based solely on their gender and a patriarchal control of the government. These women, including Marie-Jeanne, Frisline, and others, all told a story of gender discrimination in realms of education, workplaces, land ownership, access to healthcare, and other struggling aspects of their society. I was most struck by and inspired by the advocacy of solidarity even in a poor country where even having access to organizing efforts are slim. The documentary itself seemed raw and truthful, unlike some of the short videos we've seen over the semester such as the one produced by the U.N. about all of the "successful" change they are making in poor countries, which does not reflect the true situation at hand. One comment that I remember that was made about that clip produced by the U.N. was that in response to it being animated, that "it had to be animated" because there was no way they could get actual people to advocate for what the U.N. was truly doing in Haiti. The stories from these women were true and reflected the actual sitaution at hand. It also showed how women in particular were not sitting by the wayside and allowing these inequalities to break them down in the way that the savior complex often depicts those facing inequality, but instead as strong women who were willing to take the brunt of the backlash in order to fight for their rights.

Poto Mitan

Poto Mitan
Author: Kelly Ravenscraft
Last modified: 12/11/2017 5:48 PM (EDT)