Abstract
The eradication of poverty, human development, and achievement of economic growth in Africa are attainable through the empowerment of women as seen in the movie ‘Faat Kine’. The creator of the movie, Sembene Ousmane uses Kine, a single mother of two and Senegalese women from the market to show the power of African women. The movie depicts that Africa can attain considerable achievements through the empowerment of women rather than sticking to the traditionally male-dominated society. This follows the disappearance of Kine’s lover who abandoned her with children, while his second lover is a reckless conman who disappears with her money. In the end, through determination and hard work, Kine gains business acumen that propels her to a gas station manager.
A Study of the Movie Faat Kine
‘Which Africa should be respected: that of corrupt patriarchs or that of hard-working commoners such as Faat Kine?’ This question was hurled by Djib to patriarchs during the Senegalese elections of 2000 (California Newsreel, 2010). This single question sums up the movie’s theme which is aimed at depicting the efforts, struggles, and achievements of African women, and successfully narrates their everyday heroism. The expectation, therefore, is that the movie should depict aspects of hardworking commoners, who deserve respect instead of their patriarchal leaders. The movie did achieve its intention through Faat Kine, a Senegalese single mother, who along with other Senegalese women in Dakar’s market, can escape feudal reliance on men by participating in a market economy external to the national sector.
Through ‘Faat Kine’, the creator Sembene Ousmane carries this theme in the character of the eponymous heroine. Kine is introduced as a single mother of two and a successful manager of a gas station in the city of Dakar. The movie follows the everyday struggles of this woman, raising two children from two separate failed relationships, and facing the demands of her work, those of family and friends (California Newsreel, 2010). The movie successfully explores the issues facing single women in Africa, which have different dimensions to the general view of African women. Of interest is the ability of an African woman to carry herself with boldness and end up running a gas station, in a region where male dominance is heightened. This factor drives the interest of this review, as an exploration of the different facets of African culture, tradition, and socialization processes, are explored about single motherhood and career development.
These processes are of interest since the movie reveals the coming of age of a region that is depicted as highly traditional and culturally dependent (ADF VI, 2008). Moreover, these aspects are of interest given the fact that the issue at hand is the singlehood of women in Africa (UNECA, 2005). Sembene has successfully addressed these issues through the character development of the protagonist Faat Kine. This is because, from the beginning, we are introduced to the protagonist as a well-dressed lady, who stops her vehicle to give way to traditionally well-dressed women. Sembene also makes use of flashbacks to present to the viewer the story behind Kine’s life. The flashbacks reveal the struggles Kine went through, which announce her children’s passing of exams as an achievement.
The struggles of African women especially single mothers are depicted throughout the movie through the fight between traditional roles between female and male, children and parents. The movie shows the break of these roles in modern Senegal as women fight to fend for their children and themselves. For example, in the movie, Mammy describes herself as ‘daughter’ of Kine, her daughter, this follows Kine’s father’s cruel act of crippling her and Kine’s act of supporting her mother. On the other hand, Djib, the son of Kine, makes a recollection of how he thought his mother was his sister and refuses his absent father to have rights over him, meanwhile Kine is disinherited by her father who cripples her mother (California Newsreel, 2010).
Through such scenes, the movie takes the viewer through the emotional and psychological challenges African women face as they challenge traditions to eke out a living. The movie was able to tell the story of the struggle African women face under abuse and the survival spirit of entrepreneurial African women like Kine. Through flashbacks, I was introduced to the abusive nature of patriarchal relationships which reflected the larger African community which is made of the male elite who are corrupt and ineffective. The corruption and ineffectiveness of African men are shown by the abuse of power by Kine’s high school teacher, her second husband’s con activities, and his eventual theft of Kine’s money. The perspective traditionally held by the world is that African women suffer in silence without any means of escape from the male power as they rely on their menfolk (UNECA, 2005).
However, the movie changes this perspective through the use of Kine’s flashbacks depicting that there are many self-reliant businesswomen. Ousmane uses the theme of flashbacks to change the perception of African women especially single mothers. Kine takes the viewer through her suffering and emotional abuse from the betrayal of all the important men to her life. The first man to abuse Kine was her teacher, who seduced and later abandoned Kine with a daughter. The movie presents, an aspect of the abuse and seduction of school girls by their male teachers, often misrepresented in African literature and ignored alike by traditional, political, and social institutions. Later, Kine is conned by the father of her second-born Djib, who runs off with her money and abandons them. Despite these abuses and emotional strains, Kine rises to be a strong, independent African woman who is running a prosperous business. Apart from business, Ousmane gives academic success and good moral character to Kine’s children as a sign of the African woman’s ability to raise children on their own. The strength of the African woman is further depicted by a statement by Djib, where he gives distinction to hardworking commoners like Kine, the right to be respected rather than African corrupt patriarchs. This also shows the rejection of the patriarchal role by abandoned children.
This statement represents the premise of the movie, for not only is the protagonist Kine, successful by her rights, but businesswomen in Dakar alike, have managed to escape their dependence on men. The movie is presenting Kine’s determination to take care and provide for her family as she works up to become a manager. The same ambition is depicted by a larger picture of a Dakar marketplace that has many small-scale businesses run by women. Furthermore, this belief is held by the director Sembene who makes the statement that ‘in African economy and society are held in place by women, however, how are women to have responsibilities and are still denied privileges like men’ (ADF VI, 2008; UNECA, 2005). These women are neither timid nor docile as expected, but flamboyant and self-assured as presented by the movie.
This movie is a must-watch for those seeking an African perspective on the social, economic, and political aspects of modern Africa and the changing role of men and women. Many lessons have been learned from the movie, but the most outstanding point is the entrepreneurial and enduring spirit of single African women in a society that still has deep-rooted traditions. An enduring memory of the movie is the marketplace, where the movie permeated through commercial transactions, as exemplified by Kine, the economic self-reliant model that is even-tempered and charitable. This movie was also interesting for not only did it show the power of African women but also showed their economic ingenuity and knowledge of the international financial markets. This is a memorable aspect of the movie because, through Kine, we find that even market women are aware of the problems presented to any business and the economy of a nation through borrowed money. This is seen in her refusal to take a bank loan at high rates and refusal to accept foreign currencies as a contrast to the dependence of African nations on western lending and banking institutions. Another important point is the eradication of poverty, the development of humans, and the realization of economic growth in Africa through the empowerment of women as seen through Kine and the Senegalese women in the market (ADF VI, 2008). The movie depicts that Africans can achieve considerable achievements through the empowerment of women rather than sticking to the traditional male-dominated society.
References
ADF VI (2008). On Gender Equality, Women’ Empowerment and Ending violence Against Women. The African Development Forum, Progress Report, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1-34.
California Newsreel (2010). Faat Kine. Newsreel.org.
UNECA (2005), Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa: Questioning the Achievements and Confronting the Challenges Ten Years after Beijing, The African Development Forum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.