UN Chronicle | South Asia Human Rights Film Festival: Highlighting Conflict, Women's Rights and Discrimination

South Asia Human Rights Film Festival
Highlighting Conflict, Women's Rights and Discrimination
By Horst Rutsch

Web Article

The South Asia Human Rights Film Festival, presented by the Asia Society in New York, in collaboration with Breakthrough and Syracuse University, presented documentaries from 27 February to 2 March 2003 under three distinct human rights themes: conflict, women's issues and discrimination. The first cluster, on conflict, showcases three films that examined the social impact of civil war and armed conflict as experienced by the local populations in war-torn Kashmir, the Maoist insurgency in Nepal and caste massacres in Bihar. "Paradise on the River of Hell", directed by Abir Baziz and Meenu Gaur, shows the devastating effects the decade-long violence in Kashmir has had on the population, shattering everyday life and denying the value of individual human dignity. The escalation of insurgency and counter-insurgency, with indiscriminate attacks on Muslims and Hindus alike, has led to a tortured Kashmiri soul amidst an increasingly surreal landscape that was once fabled for its breathtaking beauty.

"The Killing Terraces", directed by Dhruba Basnet and shot in the mountainous terrain of Nepal, attempts to understand the underlying causes for the simmering Maoist insurgency, as well as its effects on the local population. "Life on the Margin", by Arun Kumar, documents the bitter aftermath of violence in the Indian state of Bihar, which for the past thirty years has witnessed massacres in the name of caste. Giving voice to widows of massacre victims, the film shows their attempts to cope with the killing of their husbands and focuses on their loneliness and economic and personal insecurity following the events.

The documentaries on women's issues condemned the various forms of violence against women. Besides two short music videos, produced by Breakthrough, which criticized domestic violence, the films on female infanticide and prostitution examined the societal values behind hypocritical and often barbaric behaviour against women and girls.

"Born to Die", under the direction of Usha Albuquerque, unravels the discriminatory logic of daughters being considered "liabilities", which still justifies the widespread phenomenon of "gender selection", resulting in the latest census that some 32 million baby girls were "missing", often killed with intentional criminal neglect.

"In the Flesh", a groundbreaking film by Bishakha Datta, provides an intimate insider's account of prostitution in India by following the lives of three real-life characters: Shabana, in her late 20s, who works the highways outside of Bombay; Uma, an ageing former prostitute, who still lives in the brothel in Calcutta where she used to work; and Bhaskar, a young transgendered "Hijira" in his early 20s, who offers sex for payment to other men in Calcutta. This remarkable film presents a nuanced view of prostitution by not only showing the hypocrisy and discrimination these sex workers face but also how they struggle to survive by creating their own supportive networks and promoting awareness through education and activism. We see the three protagonists in the fullness of their social roles—as daughters and mothers, as sons and lovers—witnessing them at work and at home, picking up customers and celebrating with friends. The accumulative effect for the viewer is a deeper understanding and appreciation for the common humanity of the individuals living on the margins of society.

In the final cluster, two very different documentaries interweave lyrical elements, songs and poetry with sobering facts to examine the impact of discrimination on the individual and societies. "My Migrant Soul", directed by Yasmine Kabir, recounts the life of Shahjahan Babu, a young Bangladeshi migrant worker in Malaysia, showing how his dreams dissolve into desperation, despair and death. The film is an indictment of the human costs of the international export market of cheap labour emerging in the wake of globalization. "A Night of Prophecy", directed by Amar Kanwar, represents a spiritual journey through several Indian states—from Maharashtra, through Andra Pradesh and Nagaland, to Kashmir—illuminating along the way with the use of poetry and song, the complex histories and lasting impact of conflict in the different regions. The film ends on a note of hope and prophecy, embracing change and the passage of time as a chance to move beyond the cyclical violence and suffering of conflicts.

For more information on the festival films or the Asian Social Issues Program at the Asia Society, please visit http://asiasource.org/asip, and on Breakthrough, please visit http://breakthrough.tv.

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