News & Features

Awards

Best Documentary Short, Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival for Escape, 2012 Winner, 5th Annual International Women and Minorities in Media Fest for Escape, 2012
Official Selection, United Nations Association Film Festival, for Escape, 2012
Honorable Mention, Photo Book Now, 2009
Special Prize by Juries, Day's Japan, for Escape, 2008
Juror's Choice, Santa Fe CENTER Project Competition for Escape, 2008 Media

NYC Covid Lockdown

Director

Visualizing Racism

  • A person with short hair and hoop earrings is resting their head on a surface, while another person is pouring a liquid over their head from a small container.
  • Handwritten letter about a woman's struggle with her hair and supporting her during difficult feelings, signed by ILKA, mom to Indiamarra, dated October 12, 2019, from Dorchester, MA.
  • A young woman sitting on a bed, gazing thoughtfully upward, near a window with blinds, in black and white.
  • A handwritten note with a quote about self-acceptance and being unique, signed by Ayinna, age 11, from Dorchester, MA, dated 10/12/19.
  • One girl is braiding the other girl's hair on a bed in a bedroom, with a window behind them and a mirror on the wall.
  • Handwritten note about a childhood experience in third grade, feelings about teachers, and an incident involving speaking up to teachers. The note is dated October 12, 2019, from Dorchester, Massachusetts.
  • Black and white photo of a woman with her hair in a bun, sitting on a bed with patterned pillows, looking at the camera with a serious expression.
  • Handwritten note expressing a desire for others to hear and relate to a personal story, acknowledging the emotional difficulty involved, signed Indiana, December 10, 2019, Dorchester, MA.
  • A woman in a short-sleeved shirt and jewelry sitting on a sofa, gently holding a young girl with a headband who is curled up and resting with her eyes open
  • A handwritten note expressing frustration about not having the correct answers and difficulties in explaining feelings. The note is signed by Ilka, mom to Indiamarra, dated 10/12/19, from Dorchester, MA.
  • A woman sitting on a sofa gently touches a young girl’s forehead, showing care and affection in a cozy indoor setting.
  • Handwritten quote about acceptance and self-acceptance. The quote says, 'It bothers me a little bit that she has to accept it and has to say to herself, 'This is just the way the world is and I can't do anything about it.'" The quote is attributed to Alicia, mom to Ayanna, dated 10/12/19 from Dorchester, MA.
Cover of The Washington Post Magazine from December 1, 2019, featuring a black woman with natural hair holding her finger to her lips in gesture of silence, with the headline "Visualizing Racism" and a subheading about photographers depicting bigotry.

Photos and Text by Marvi Lacar for the Washington Post

If the pain of overt racism is like a brutal stab wound — instant and searing — the trauma of systemic and casual racism is like the phantom pains from an amputated limb. It is the constant pinpricks of a wound that can’t fully heal. It is the external reminder that you’re not quite like the others, and the gnawing self-doubt that you may never be enough.

But to speak of this type of pain can be risky. You can be told, “You have such a chip on your shoulder. Get over it!” or “You’re always acting like a victim!”

Most people of color play a balancing act when advocating for ourselves and our children. We straddle the line between finding a space to speak openly about injustice and trauma, and guarding ourselves so that our experiences and our grief aren’t turned into racial tropes. We proceed with caution, lest our stories be stripped of empathy and subsequently used against us. There are consequences of vulnerability.

Yet some parents, like Ilka Alcantara and Alicia Volel, are cognizant of their inherited trauma and are more open to addressing the reverberations of hate around their two girls. Best friends Indiamara and Ayainna, both 11, grew up in middle-class homes in Dorchester, Mass., with two working professional parents. What is grim about their stories is the commonality of their experiences. They speak of everyday realities many children and families of color have grown inured to — realities so typical, in fact, that these daily offenses no longer possess an urgency in their hierarchy of problems.

Escaping Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage

Director, Photographer

For the Maasai tribe of Kenya, female circumcision (currently refered to by law as Female Genital Mutilation or FGM) is considered a rite of passage. It is a prerequisite to marriage as it is believed to turn a girl into a woman and cleanse her blood, which will finally make her worthy of a man’s touch. It is also believed to stifle her libido thus ensuring her fidelity to her husband. Girls undergo this rite from as early as 8 to 15 years of age.

Immediately following circumcision is marriage, which brings in a significant amount of livestock and cash flow to the girl's family. For a poor pastoral family, a girl’s dowry will mean a rise in status in their community because property commands respect. Property however, is not limited to inanimate objects. Girls and women are considered property. They can be exchanged, married off or banished at the will of the husband, father, brothers or even uncles. The man is the final decision-maker and to contradict him would be an unfathomable act of disrespect. A girl cannot scream or cry when her clitoris and labia minora are cut off for she is not to disobey the will of her father. Once she is married, she can no longer proceed in her studies as she is to tend to her obligations as a wife. She is to cook, clean, and procreate.

  • Three Maasai women inside a small mud hut, one is braiding the other's hair, while a young girl sleeps against her. They are dressed in traditional Maasai clothing with colorful shúkà, jewelry, and accessories.

    Preparation

    Naanyu Sekut cries while her head is shaved in preparation for her wedding. She is approximately 13-14 years old and is to wed a man more than twice her age. Her husband-to-be facilitated her circumcision a year earlier when he chose her to be his bride. Though it is customary and respectful for the bride to cry during this ceremony, her sorrow is genuine as she can no longer visit her own village and family without the permission of her husband.

  • Close-up of dusty hands holding a small metal tool, with a red and black plaid shirt in the background.

    Traditional Blade

    A Masaai villager displays the traditional blade used to circumcise young girls before the practice became illegal in Kenya. Maasai are a pastoral group mostly clustered in the Rift Valley. They practice circumcision on both boys and girls during puberty years as a rite of passage to adulthood. Though female circumcision and child marriage has been illegal for a number of years, these practices still occur in Maasai land where the act of dowry offering still holds ground. A girl's dowry can prove to be very lucrative to an impoverished family like many Maasai. Since a girl cannot be married off unless she is undergoes the rite of passage to womanhood, circumcision goes hand in hand with early marriage. Traditionally a young girl is expected to quit school after she is wed in order to perfom her wifely duties such as cooking, cleaning, procreating and caring for the children of her husband's wives.

  • A woman in traditional Maasai attire and jewelry in front of a group of people and a hut in a rural landscape.

    Farewell

    Naanyu Sekut cries on her wedding day as she is escorted out of her village by her family to join her husband.

  • A group of people, mostly children, gathered outdoors among leafless trees, with a woman in traditional attire standing in the center, while others listen to a woman on the right who is gesturing and talking.

    Entering a New Home

    Naanyu enters her husband's village for the first time and is greeted with the customary verbal hazing by the women and children.

  • Three Maasai individuals, two women and one man, walking outdoors during sunset; the women are dressed in red and blue shuka cloth and the man is holding a pistol.

    Raid

    Acting on a tip from an informant, Narok district police officers raid a village in search of a young girl ready for circumcision. According to tradition, a girl has to be circumcised in order to become a woman and be fit to marry. Since a girl cannot be married off unless she is undergoes the rite of passage to womanhood, circumcision goes hand in hand with early marriage. Since 2001, early marriage and female circumcision were banned in Kenya, though the practice quietly continues mostly in the remote parts of Maasai land.

  • A man wrapped in a bright striped blanket standing beside a young girl dressed in traditional beaded clothing and a cape, while another man in a dark jacket and hat stands nearby, holding papers, outside a mud house.

    Rescue

    Claiming to be the father of the bride, Oloitiring'ai Sekut confronts Narok district police officers who were conducting an anti-circumcision raid in the village. Though he and the rest of the villagers adamantly denied practing female circumcision, Sekut eventually presented a young girl of about thirteen years of age who was wed the previous day. Sekut was eventually identified as the bride's uncle and claimed to be the father following Maasai tradition in which a male relative takes the stead of a child's father if he is indisposed.

  • Group of people in an outdoor setting, some dressed in traditional Maasai attire, others in uniforms, engaged in conversation or activity, with vehicles and a dry landscape in the background.

    Protective Custody

    Child bride, Seleyian Sekut is taken into protective custody by Narok district police officers after a raid on their village on December 5, 2007 in Oldonyo, Narasha. The groom and bestman were also arrested.

  • A woman with traditional jewelry inside a vehicle, being comforted by a man with a camouflage jacket, while others look on outside the vehicle, some smiling and taking photos.

    Protective Custody

    Realizing she is being taken away from her village and family Seleyian Sekut starts to cry hysterically as police and rescue officials console her.

  • Four people sitting inside a room, looking out large windows with white patterned curtains, overlooking an outdoor area with a wooden fence and trees, on a cloudy day.

    Education

    Young girls study inside the mess hall of the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls. The Tasaru Safehouse supports board, lodging and education of young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. A majority of the girls who escape to Tasaru cite "education" as their reason for leaving their families meaning that they do not want to quit their education which would have been their only option after circumcision and marriage. Though the girls are only at the safehouse during their school break, they spend a significant amount of their time there studying believing that education is their only way out of poverty and repressive traditional practices. The Tasaru Ntomomok Safehouse for Girls is funded by VDay and UNFPA.

  • A woman sitting on a red chair, with dark lighting on her face, in a room with walls covered in torn newspapers and posters.

    Mary Solio

    Mary Solio, 19, is one of the first rescues of the Tasaru Ntomomok Rescue Center. Mary was raped by her husband while she was held down by three of her uncles. Though she became pregnant as a result of the rape, she continued her education under the sponsorship of Tasaru while her mother took care of her child. She is now reconciled with her family and has a part-time job as a primary school teacher in her village. She continues to visit the girls and rescue workers at Tasaru.

  • A young girl with closed eyes and hands on her chest, appearing to pray or reflect, in a room with a group of people standing in the background.

    Salula

    Salula Sylvia Naingisa, 11 prays during an evening fellowship inside the girls dorm at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls. Since many of the Masaai are Christian, workers at the center seek the aid of the Church to use their influence and reach to preach against FGM and early marriage. Many of the pastors who were among the first in their community to be educated during the British rule are strident proponents of education for all genders.

  • Abstract ceramic sculpture with curved, brown, and black sections on a wooden surface.

    Female Genital Mutilation

    A model shows one of the three types of FGM, which is excision, the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia majora.

  • Group of children and adults playing on grass outside a building, with some participants crawling and others observing, in a rural setting.

    New Friends

    The girls stay at the Safehouse during their school breaks in April, August and December. During this time, new girls arrive at the center as these months are the usual months for circumcision rituals. The girls tend to immediately take in the new addition and support her in her transition to a new environment. The Tasaru Ntomomok Safehouse for Girls is funded by VDay and UNFPA.

  • Two children outdoors with one girl standing behind and placing her hands on the head of a girl sitting on the ground, while a boy with a comb and mirror looks at himself.

    Safehouse

    Salula Sylvia Naingisa, 11, grooms Semerian Janet Pere, 17, while Sereya Emily Nchoko (right), 12, primps in front of the mirror at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls on December 26, 2006 in Narok, Kenya. The Tasaru Safehouse supports board, lodging and education of young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. The Tasaru Ntomomok Safehouse for Girls is funded by VDay and UNFPA.

  • Man lying on a bed, smiling and holding a small object, with his head resting on his hand, inside a tent

    Caro

    Lato Caroline Gilisho, 17, inside her dormroom at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls December 19 in Narok, Kenya. The Tasaru Safehouse supports board, lodging and education of young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. Caroline arrived at the center at the age of thirteen to escape an arranged marriage. Instead of using the money given to her for groceries and supplies for the ceremony, she used it to pay for her fare to Narok. She is currently in her last year of school and serves as a class prefect. While inherently bright, she is also a hardworker. Caro, as her friends call her, wakes up at around 3:30 in the morning during school holidays to study. Her parents continue to refuse her despite numerous interventions by Tasaru counselors. One counselor recalled Caro saying that after she finishes school and becomes an important leader in the community, she will drive back to her village in her own car to visit her parents. Although rejected by her own family, Caro harbors no ill will towards them. She continues to value her Maasai roots though feels strongly against FGM and early marriage. She hopes to one day go back to her community and serve as a positive influence for a younger generation of girls.

  • A student in a red school uniform standing inside a classroom, looking out a window with metal bars, while holding the window frame. The classroom has blue walls and a large window, with colorful posters and yellow chairs visible.

    Jenniffer

    Pirias Jeniffer Kiok, 17, poses for a portrait inside her classroom at St. Mary's Secondary School. Jeniffer escaped from early marriage because she wanted to continue with her education. She knew that if she were to wed, she would have had to quit school and fulfull her "wifely duties."

  • A woman in a light blue dress standing at a desk in a classroom with children seated at desks, while a woman in a white coat sits at her desk with writing materials.

    Emily

    Sereya Emily Nchoko, 12, hands over an assignment to teacher, Lorna Nimishoi, while others review school lessons inside a classroom at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls. The Tasaru Safehouse supports board, lodging and education of young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. Traditionally a young girl is expected to quit school after she is wed in order to perfom her wifely duties such as cooking, cleaning, procreating and caring for the children of her husband's wives. The girls stay at the Safehouse during their school breaks in April, August and December. While they use this time to relax, many still continue to brush up on their studies believing that education will lift them and their families out of poverty. The Tasaru Ntomomok Safehouse for Girls is funded by VDay and UNFPA.

  • A man with short hair sitting on a brown sofa, wearing a colorful plaid shirt, with his head bowed down. Behind him is a white wall and a closed red wooden door. A person is seen in a small window or opening in the wall, looking into the room.

    Takaya

    Takaya Rose Nkurumwa, 13, timidly explains her reason for seeking refuge at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls in front of center founder, Agnes Pareyio. The Tasaru Safehouse receives young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. Takaya ran away from her family who was preparing for her to be circumcised. Her uncle, Pastor William Nkurumwa, lent Takaya and a young boy from his congregation his bicycle. The pair set off at sundown riding nonstop through Maasai land where wild animals roam freely. They arrived safely at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls the next day. Takaya is one of the newest arrivals at the safehouse and is still shy and reserved but adjusting smoothly to her new environment. The Tasaru Ntomomok Safehouse for Girls is funded by VDay and UNFPA.

  • Side profile of a young person with dark skin inside a dark room, illuminated from a window on the right.

    Regina

    Renu Regina Masiaine, 15 sits inside her dormroom at the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls. The Tasaru Safehouse receives young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. In Maasai culture, Regina is considered an orphan because she does not have a father, who died when she was a baby. Her fate was to be decided by the men in her family who follow the father as the final decision maker. In Maasai culture women are considered property or juveniles incapable of making decisions for themselves. Thus when Regina expressed to her brother her desire to continue her schooling, he adviced her to take refuge at Tasaru where she would no longer be under the reach and jurisdiction of her uncles who they believed planned on having her circumcised and married off.