Brave Girl Rising

Earlier this month, Brave Girl Rising was screened for the Polytechnic community. Brave Girl Rising follows Nasro, a Somalian refugee in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. This short film furthers the mission of the original Girl Rising film that was released 5 years earlier in order to promote girl’s education around the world. As a refugee, Brave Girl Rising focuses on how the environment, as well as culture, is able to influence a person’s ability to receive an education. The film captured many of the harsh realities that refugees face especially for young women and girls, including the cultural aspect of gender norms. In many cultures it is women who take on the role of caring for family and retrieving water for a household; however, at the Dadaab refugee camp, the supply of water is only turned on for a short period of time in the day, which forces many girls and some boys to abandon school in order to allow their families to survive. I was amazed as to the lengths that Martha Adams, the producer who spoke to us at the event, went to truly reflect the truth and reality behind both the area and Nasro’s story. The film script was written by Warsan Shire, who was a refugee herself, in a poetic form allowing for a different perspective to be created. Adams also collaborated extensively with Nasro through many lengthy Skype calls in order to be able to fully capture and convey her story. It was such an honor to be able to hear from Martha Adams, an inspiring film director who works tirelessly and sometimes in dangerous areas to further her goal of increasing girls’ education worldwide.