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"It makes perfect sense to take a second wife if your first is sterile or bad-natured." It's obvious to this polygamous husband, talking to Fati Ousseini on Niger's Voice of Sahel radio. The preparatory research for his broadcast takes the journalist into the world of polygamy. An incursion into the daily lives of village families living under the dictates of the marabout, in the corridors of courthouses and hospital yards. The resigned, aggrieved words of wives, the self-confidence of husbands, the recurring arguments of the religious fundamentalists, and the outrage of Nigerian feminists contribute to this pathetic portrait of the lives of co-spouses. The women are forced to share home and hearth, their only rights being to smile, serve and bear children.

France / Belgium - 2002 - 52 mn - Betacam Digital - Colour

Director Bernard Debord Camera Simon Ross Sound André Rigaut Editing Sylvie Bourget

Production Mat Films, 56, rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75010 Paris, France Tél : +33 (0)1 4523 4220 Fax : +33 (0)1 4523 2873 E-mail : matfilm@worldnet.fr Co-Production Radiotélévision belge de la communauté française, France 5, Image Création.com

Sales Mat Films, 56, rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75010 Paris, France Tél : +33 (0)1 4523 4220 Fax : +33 (0)1 4523 2873 E-mail : matfilm@worldnet.fr