Rite of Being

Rite of Being seeks to highlight the link between knowledge and power by providing individuals and communities with the opportunity to discover information that could lead to informed choices around rites of passage. It undertakes to give voice to women who are affected by invasive and disempowering practices.

In Kenya, the focus of the project is on breaking the silence around harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and honouring the bodily integrity of women and girls. In South Africa, the project addresses informal rites of passage that revolve around the sexual appropriation of the female body, including rape and incest.

According to Mothertongue, in both countries the traditional rites of passage for girls often have a lot more to do with endorsing and perpetuating patriarchal power and less to do with a transition from girlhood to womanhood. Rites of passage as a theme serves to bring together the diverse experiences of women and girls who often find it hard to talk about these difficult and controversial topics. Stories of FGM are told side by side with imposed informal rites of passage like a young girl relating how her uncle raped her.

Rite of Being is also about empowering women to create their own rituals. Mothertongue believes that the creation of alternative rituals will address the need for girls to become women who will feel comfortable in making and asserting their right to responsible choices for themselves. In so doing, Rite of Being aims to work with all stakeholders involved in reassessing and establishing alternative rites of passages that are grounded within cultural practices with which the communities can identify.

The key vehicle for developing these alternatives is a series of workshops and interactive performances. The initial trial performances that were conducted as part of the training began to act as a catalyst for the mothers in the community to get together. The need for meetings between mothers and daughters was mooted as a means to begin discussions on the celebration of womanhood - hence positive rites of passage. Outreach performances were conducted in 6 high schools in Manenberg (a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa) and at a number of events in partnership with the Department for Community Safety, Social Services, and the Learning Cape Festival. According to Mothertongue, these performances led community members to ask for the young women and the performances to become a feature of their meetings and daily routine at clinics and community meetings. Six of these young women were part of a two-day video and filming project that was sponsored by The Cape Film Commission as part of the Learning Cape Festival. They produced a 10-minute video that was composed of short pieces discussing the issues that emerged from the workshops processes. The young women that were trained and conduct the outreach work act as role models to other young women they encounter in the community and schools. For the young girls in the schools, this is an opportunity to engage with stories that resonate with theirs - stories that, as Mothertongue puts it, convey that "life as a young woman can be experienced differently and in a way that can reinforce and positively redefine what it means to be a woman within Manenberg".

In addition, an exchange trip saw 4 young women from Manenberg travel to Kenya to run and participate in a 10-day workshop with their Kenyan counterparts. The trip was designed to improve the participants' understanding of the two organisations, contexts, cultural diversity, and practices in the 2 countries. It was also an opportunity for skills-sharing. This exchange opened the space for people to reflect on how to engage with difference and how such encounters can be managed.

In continuing to support and strengthen the capacity of the young women who piloted this work in Manenberg, in 2007 Motherhood partnered with the Department of Health and the University of Western Cape's Gender Studies department. During these events some of the women who came through this project have continued to showcase their work and have actively engaged and challenged their audiences through the interactive pieces they have performed.

Women, Girls.

According to Mothertongue, the practice of FGM is still prevalent amongst many communities in Kenya. The bulk of activism is conducted by civil society bodies that have attempted to work in some measure with these communities. However, it remains a closely guarded subject that is supported by the respective communities. The practice has been found to have physical and health implications; for example, the use of unhygienic instruments can result in massive loss of blood, pain, genital infections, and the spread of viral infections such as HIV/AIDS. The formation of the scar tissue after healing causes severe obstruction to the flow of urine and may cause serious urinary tract disorders. There is also the risk of infertility as a result of pelvic infection, as well as the long-term effect of psychosexual dysfunctions.

Mothertongue has observed that the Manenberg project, in particular, has contributed to building the self-esteem and confidence of the pilot group. The outreach performances developed their capacity to: speak in public, respond spontaneously to issues presented to them on stage, and to hone their acting skills by developing and playing different characters. Furthermore, the organisation claims that "[t]he research, discussions and reflections that Mothertongue is conducting in Manenberg contribute to a highly under-researched and largely ignored area – youth culture in peri-urban settlements."