Warkha grew up in Pikine, one of Dakar's poorer suburbs, where cases of domestic violence, rape and abuse were as commonplace as the district's power outages and seasonal flash floods. — Photos: Reuters
DAKAR: For Senegalese activist Fatou Warkha, online videos play a vital role in her campaign to expose and end violence against women in a country where discretion and forbearance are traditionally prized.
The 30-year-old grew up in Pikine, one of Dakar's poorer suburbs, where cases of domestic violence, rape and abuse were as commonplace as the district's power outages and seasonal flash floods.
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Warkha grew up in Pikine, one of Dakar's poorer suburbs, where cases of domestic violence, rape and abuse were as commonplace as the district's power outages and seasonal flash floods. — Photos: Reuters
Warkha hoped to expose and end violence against women in a country where discretion and forbearance are traditionally prized, via her project's online videos. — Reuters
Warkha sitting in front of a computer at her TV headquarters in Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. — Reuters
Warkha speaking with her producer Fatou Leye, 29, at her TV headquarters in Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. — Reuters
Warkha walking in the streets of Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. — Reuters
Warkha launched an online television channel in 2018, hoping the anonymity offered by the Internet and its reach might encourage women to open up after generations of silence. — Reuters
Warkha's videos of women or actors recounting true stories of trauma and abuse have been widely shared on social media and picked up by local television stations. — Reuters
Warkha preparing her equipment before shooting footage in the streets of Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. — Reuters
Warkha setting up the lights with her colleague Djamil Beye, 25, at her TV headquarters in Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. — Reuters
Warkha walking in the streets of Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. Some of her project's videos played a role in a successful campaign for the criminalisation of rape, which was signed into law on Jan 10. — Reuters
Warkha is pictured at her TV headquarters in Pikine. The channel now plans to produce reports explaining the new law and how rapists and abusers can be held accountable, Warkha said. — Reuters
Warkha meeting with women in a medical center as they prepare an awareness campaign against malaria in Pikine. — Reuters
Warkha shooting footage in the streets of Pikine. — Reuters
Warkha's mission to break the silence on society's ills runs counter to deep-rooted cultural mores such as 'Soutoura', which means to be discreet in the local Wolof language, 'Massla' – to tolerate and compromise, and 'Mougne' – to endure. — Reuters
Warkha's project has sparked much-needed debate and helped bring about real change. . — Reuters
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