Prosecutor
Vera Ngassa and Judge Beatrice Ntuba are determined to bring
rapists, wife beaters and child abusers to justice. What is
remarkable about their mission is that they are members of
a mostly Muslim community in Cameroon’s city of Kumba,
a place where women are considered second-class citizens.
Thus, the frightened victims of a variety of abuse find themselves
under intense pressure to remain silent.
Sisters
in Law chronicles the valiant efforts of these two intrepid
black women to coax incriminating testimony out of reluctant
witnesses in order to put some pretty sick felons behind bars.
With a camera rolling right in the courtroom, we get to see
some fairly heartbreaking cases, such as the one involving
a sexual assault on a young virgin by a neighbor who claims
that the sex was consensual and that she was a prostitute.
Although
the 25 year-old creep gives the prepubescent adolescent
intimidating stares, she bravely recounts how he bound
and gagged her before raping her repeatedly. Fortunately,
Judge Ntuba is not swayed by his obvious lies, and she
orders him shipped off to the penitentiary summarily.
Another
case involves a badly battered housewife who helps set
a precedent by making her husband the first person in
town to be incarcerated for spousal abuse in over 17
years. Generating a range of emotions from compassion
to outrage to satisfaction, Sisters in Law packs a powerful
punch by exposing the evils of a patriarchal culture
inclined to look the other way whenever men oppress
women.
A
first-rate female empowerment flick.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 104 minutes
Studio: Women Make Movies
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