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Carole Mikita ReportingTwo women, one a judge, one a prosecutor, have battled for the rights of women and children in their country of Cameroon, West Africa for nearly 20 years.
Now their story is told on screen in the film 'Sisters in Law' that won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. That movie has come to Utah.
Judge Beatrice Ntuba and Prosecutor Vera Ngassa are responsible for saving the lives and protecting thousands of women and children over the years. When I asked them if they realize they are making history, they said, no, they look at it as simply 'having a job to do.'
Each story is about rights. Vera Ngassa represents people who have never been able to help themselves.
Vera Ngassa, Cameroon State Prosecutor: "It is only when wrong beings to happen to them, when they have these crimes committed against them, then they begin to think it has to be addressed some way. Then they decide to come to the law."
The judge and prosecutor battle tribal traditions that are often placed above the law, making women simply property.
Judge Beatrice Ntuba, Cameroon Court President: "They now have the power or the possibility to select what they want for their own lives. It is not like wandering and ignorance. It is like moving and choosing. So we've made progress."
The courts, they say, are full of these cases. These two women have succeeded in prosecuting and punishing men for beating and raping their wives.
Children in Africa suffer greatly, these lawyers say. Some have the courage to ask for help and embarrass their abusers.
The documentary, 'Sisters in Law', has a special screening tonight at 7 at the Salt Lake City Library.
