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THURSDAY
Some parts of the globe still refuse women’s liberation as found in the “civilized world.” Just ask 22-year-old Asikiyea headstrong city dweller, she returns to her native village in the Niger River Delta after 10 years to participate in a rite-of-passage ceremony in order to pacify her traditionalist dad. Unfortunately, this modern sis is not interested in pre-matrimonial rituals that require her to gain weight while isolated in a house for five weeks so that she might please her plump-loving prospective husband, or to bare her breasts for approval before a jeering and excited village. She’s a woman of the ’90s, and traditions, says Asikiye, are made to be broken. Quickly. Monday’s Girl is the lighthearted and humorous documentary by Ngozi Onwurah that examines the struggle of fellow Nigerian girls’ coming of age in a society where the call for equality is left unheeded. Shown with Becoming a Woman in Okrika at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of African Art Lecture Hall, 950 Independence Ave. SW. FREE. (202) 357-2700. (Deborah Rouse)