The Byron Bay Film Festival starts next week, and one of the features has caught our eye. 'Umoja - No Men Allowed' tells the amusing and life-changing story of a group of impoverished tribal Samburu women in Northern Kenya who reclaim their lives, turning age-old patriarchy on its head when they set up a women's only village.
Their story began some years back, when around 600 women claimed British soldiers raped them. When the women returned home, their husbands beat and cast them out, declaring they had brought shame to their families in line with traditional Samburu customs. Ostracized by the entire community, the cast-out women say they were forced to live on the fringes of society like dogs.
When Rebecca Lolosoli, a charismatic crusader for women's rights gets wind of the women's plight, she decides to do something about it. She brings the women together to establish the village of Umoja (unity), on an unoccupied field in the dry grasslands. Rebecca becomes the matriarch, encouraging the women to build a village where no men are allowed.