The Fruitless Tree

Aïcha Macky’s original impetus for making her first feature-length film was to reflect on her mother’s death in childbirth. Her project became even more personal as she turned to her own experience as a married woman without children. While a universal issue, infertility is a taboo topic in Niger, which has the highest average birthrate in the world. Through sharing women’s stories of being stigmatized by infertility—and of dealing with husbands who refuse to be tested, who abandon them, or who take other wives—Macky advocates for a fuller identity for Nigerien women.