Coastal women from the Mijikenda community participated in a documentary workshop to share their stories about violent extremism. In recent years the violence between Kenya and Somalia has escalated due to Al-Shabaab Al Mujahedeen, a jihadist fundamentalist organization based in East Africa. The movement exerts a traumatic influence among rural communities where many of the Mijikenda participants reside.

T  he workshop reminded us about the past the things we experienced with violent extremism. These weren’t good experiences but sharing, talking about it made it easier. Being in a community where women like me, i.e, are not educated enough, other women admired what we were doing, seeing us taking the short clips of the videos and pictures. I love the fact that it’s women who are working in the field of men, so it’s women empowerment. … I would love to teach other women how to take pictures and videos.

Fatma Shaffy

I  was surprised and I didn’t know that I had the capability to take good photos and videos. I could now be a photographer or a video person and could can make a living out of it. I also know that I can be adventurous attending different meetings and taking videos and pictures. I would take this workshop again and again …

Philomena