Burkinabe playwright aims to break the silence about rape

Under a spotlight in a pitch dark room, Oliva Ouedraogo holds up a piece of fabric that looks like its stained with blood.

She cries “Long live the girl!”, her voice drowning out the loud hum of a generator, an unfortunate necessity as the city of Bamako in Mali lies in darkness due to power cuts.

Ouedraogo’s play “Queen” (known by its French name “Reine”) showed at the Acte Sept cultural centre on 15 October.

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