A Maasai Tale
With the help of a tribal leader and a university scholarship in America a girls life becomes anything but traditional
Director: Bill Stout
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| Sitatien Kaelo |
Sitatien Kaelo was the smartest girl in the tribe so her community justified continuing payments for her education into high school. Yet this soon came to an end because, as Sitatien points out, 13 year olds are considered old grown women where she comes from.
But with the help of a Maasai tribal leader and a scholarship from a university in the United States, Sitatien’s life becomes anything but traditional. The farewell song composed by female friends and family is a haunting tribute to the responsibilities resting on this youngster’s shoulders.
The Maasai tribe is in crisis. Its nomadic pastoral traditions and ritualistic blood-drinking are in conflict with the modern world. The community’s attitudes to women are equally out of step. Education is almost exclusively reserved for boys and female circumcision is standard practice.
Bill Stout follows Sitatien’s story of remarkable independence and growing confidence.
| Your Comments: |
I am a huge fan because you do stories that are very seldom seen anywhere on any of the other TV channels. I loved the story on the Maasai women and their struggle for independence from their abusive husbands.
Amal, United Arab Emirates
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