Director of the documentary Saving Face, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won another Oscar. This time it is A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, a documentary about a 19-year old girl who fell in love and survived being shot and drowned by her father in an honor killing crime. The Academy Award documentary premieres on March 7 on HBO Canada. Here are the scheduled airings:
Monday Mar. 7
9:00PM ET / MT
Tuesday Mar. 8
12:15AM ET / MT
Tuesday Mar. 8
5:05AM ET / MT
Wednesday Mar. 9
7:50PM ET / MT
Thursday Mar. 10
2:00AM ET / MT
Equality Now sent out this petition to stop Honor Killings. Click here if you are interested in signing it.
Over 50,000 baby girls are aborted every month in South Asia – just because they were girls – Gospel for Asia
According to writer and gender-activist Rita Banerji, “Females are being killed in India at every stage of life, before and after birth, only because they are female” It has been said that the three deadliest words in the world are “It’s a girl”. The birth of a girl is not celebrated. It leads to infanticide or trafficking.
UNICEF states that the killing of baby girls has reached genocidal proportions. It is a practice that has gone on “in central India for a long time, where mothers were made to feed the child with salt to kill the girl.” Various other gruesome methods of murder are employed, many dating back to the 18th Century: stuffing the baby girl’s mouth with a few grains of coarse paddy causing the child to choke to death is one, poisoning, using organic or inorganic chemicals, drowning, suffocation, starvation and breaking the spinal cord, as well as burying the child alive.
What possible reasons could families have for murdering their baby girls?
Extreme poverty. The inability to afford raising a child.
The dowry system. This practice was supposed to have been abolished but it still exists. Poorer families in rural regions fear being unable to raise a suitable dowry and being socially ostracised.
Children conceived from rape
Deformed children born to impoverished families
Unmarried mothers not having reliable, safe and affordable birth control
Relationship difficulties
Low income
Lack of support coupled with postpartum depression
A girl is seen as an economic burden to her family–an unwanted expense while the boy is seen as their source of income. What about the women who have generated income for their families through the use of a sewing machine? Girls can be and are sources of income for their families. All they need is to be given the opportunities.
The girls are murdered for two reasons–the dowry, as mentioned earlier and the unwillingness of their families to marry them to men from a rival caste/tribe. Parents would rather murder their daughter than to allow her to marry someone from a lower caste. And the girls who survive are mistreated and neglected. They are unloved, uneducated and kept at home where they are forced to do household chores. For them the future is bleak and hopeless.
From the time they are born, South Asian women face pain, rejection, cruelty, suffering and discrimination. The Veil of Tears: Hope is on the Way is a documentary film which gives us a glimpse into the lives and hearts of these women for whom adversity is the norm. Take a look at the behind scenes video of “Veil of Tears: Hope is on the Way”.
I was deeply affected when Natalie Grant shared what she saw when she went to the Red Light District in Mumbai. Little girls as young as 5 were for sale. She and her husband had an opportunity to tour a brothel where they saw tiny rooms with beds lined up and one of them had a rope tied at the end of it. At first she was hesitant to ask about this but when she did, she was told that there was no daycare . These were working women but there was no where for them to drop off their children. “This woman has her 18 month old daughter that she tetters to the end of the bed while she’s forced to work so that she knows where she is. These are the things my husband and I say wrecked us for life” As a mother, can you imagine working in a brothel and having your child right there in the room with you? Yet, women are forced to turn to prostitution i order to take care of their children. And there is no one who will take care of their children while they work.
On CBN, Natalie shared another heartbreaking story, “I was walking down the street in Mumbai, in broad daylight, when my eyes locked on a little girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old, peering out of a cage, looking at us on the street below. It was beyond my imagination. I’ll never forget that moment. That was her life. Every day people walked by, and they didn’t even notice her.”
Can you imagine you or your daughter being kept in a cage like an animal and people are just walking by as this is nothing out of the ordinary?
When we see how these girls and women are treated by society, we realize that the problems we face are nothing compared to what they have had to endure. This why God has brought their stories to our awareness so that we can tell others. We can be the voice of the voiceless.
“Veil of Tears” tells the stories of women who are just like every other woman in the world, except that these women are brutalized, they’re despised, they’re persecuted culturally, simply because they are women and this has been going on for generations – Kenny Saylors
Thankfully, there is hope.
…God is restoring dignity to the women who have been utterly just downtrodden – Kyle Saylors
And God is not just changing their hearts, He’s changing their lives. He’s changing their everyday lives – Kenny Saylors
We can bring hope to the girls and women of South Asia–the hope they can find only in Jesus by supporting the Veil of Tears film. Here are ways you can make a difference. Take action today. Get the word out about the plight of women in Asia.
The most overwhelming part of the whole trip was visiting a village and seeing women who had been restored and seeing what true hope actually does in the life of someone that it actually can make them new, that no matter how broken, no matter how desolate, there is still hope – Natalie Grant
As a mother who lost five children, would you be able to forgive the man who killed them? What about the bomber who killed your father–could you see yourself being friends with him? People who have suffered unimaginable tragedies share their stories in the documentary Beyond Right & Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness. Watch the trailer.
If you are interested in watching the film, you can do so for free. The great thing about this offer is that you can donate to the charity of your choice without spending a dime. To find out more about how this works visit: http://filmraise.com/how-it-works/#instructions
Sunday, March 8, 2015 is International Women’s Day. Gospel of Asia Canada is celebrating this day in South Asia by:
Giving new saris to widows
Encouraging women by sharing stories of women found in the Bible
Distributing food and blankets to poor children and families in the slums
Visiting women in prison and encouraging prostitutes with Christ’s love
Meeting the basic needs of some of the poorest women in society
I encourage you to watch a clip of the movie, “Veil of Tears” about a woman named Suhkwinder who almost committed suicide because her children were born girls. As you watch the clip and celebrate International Women’s Day, find out how you can help to change the life of a woman just like Suhkwinder’s. In a society where boy babies are preferred, the worst words a parent could hear are, “It’s a girl”.
In India girls are unwanted. I read in an article that came out a couple of years ago that a three month old girl died from cardiac arrest at a state-run hospital in Bangalore after battling for life for three days. Her father had battered her because he wanted a son. Little Neha Afreen sustained head injuries, abrasions and bite marks all over her body. This caused public outrage which led to her father’s arrest. Her mother said, “My husband was enraged with me for delivering a girl, He hated her. He wanted me to get rid of the child or abandon her as he wanted a son.”
Sadly, there are several horror stories of baby girls who have been abandoned, tortured or killed because they were unwanted. We live in a world where there is gender bias. As a Christian this is very hard for me to accept. God created both man and woman in His image. Little girls are as precious in His sight as little boys. And if society keeps killing the baby girls, how will they have the boys they want so much? And what about the boys when they grow up and want to get married and there is a shortage of women? Many of them will have to go elsewhere to find wives. In Asia, baby girls are tossed aside as if they are garbage and women are raped.
There is the documentary, India’s Daughter, the story of the gang rape and murder of a young woman which shocked the world and sparked riots and protests all over India. Grieving parents and one of the rapists tell the story of the night six men brutally assaulted 23 year old medical student, Jyoti Singh while driving around Delhi, India’s Capital, in a bus. Women should have the right to feel safe in their own communities. In Canada, you can watch India’s Daughter on March 8 on CBC or online for 30 days after broadcast.
I know of some fathers who have daughters and adore them. In fact, they want daughters. God bless these men. Jyoti’s parents were happy to have her. She had dreams like everyone else. One night, her dreams and life were brutally taken away from her.
On March 8, let us celebrate our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends, teachers, etc. Let us celebrate women and reflect on the marvelous contributions they have made and will make to our society. Each life matters. Girls matter. I pray that one day, the words, “It’s a girl” will be met with joy and acceptance. Until then, let each of us who has a little girl of our own, encourage her to stand up and say, “I am a girl and I matter.”
I saw that TVO aired a documentary entitled The World Before Her but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch it. It’s a Canadian documentary film written and directed by Nisha Pahuja and released in 2012. The film explores the complex and conflicting environment for young girls in India by profiling two young women participating in two very different types of training camp — Ruhi Singh, who aspires to become Miss India, and Prachi Trivedi, a militant Hindu nationalist with the Durga Vahini.
The film won the awards for Best Canadian Feature at the 2012 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and Best Documentary Feature at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, and was a nominee for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards.
Notes to Women encourages you to watch this film which captures the choices and contradictions that young women in India are facing today. Imagine being chased down and beaten because you are seen with a man in public or are caught in a bar. Imagine while you are in grade 7, to teach you a lesson for lying about completing your homework, your father burned your foot with a hot iron rod and as a result you suffer for a month from the painful blister that formed. How would you feel if your father referred to you as “our product”? This is the reality for the women in India.
As you watch this film, be mindful that these women are not enjoying the same rights as you are. If you have a career, be thankful. If you have a father who is supportive of you and whatever career path or degree you want to pursue, be grateful. We all want to live in a society where girls and women are valued, respected and treated equally. India is a male dominated society and that needs to change. Until that happens, let us continue to stand with our sisters in India and raise our voices against inequality, violence against women, oppression and gendercide.
It’s hard to see people use religion to perpetuate violence against others who don’t share their beliefs. It’s especially hard to see young Hindu girls carrying guns and knives as they marched down the streets of India and chanted, “Mark your foreheads with blood and welcome your enemies with bullets.” Who are their enemies? Muslims and Christians whom they believed have ruined the Hindu religion. One girl was clear about their mission–“we will use our guns and kill people. We will never let them take our India.” These girls are graduates of the Durga Vahini, a militant training camp for girls.
The Indian government believes that that these camps are promoting terrorism and is trying to ban them. Personally, I find the idea of children carrying weapons and talking about killing people very, very disturbing. This world is already a very violent place, we don’t need any more blood shed in the name of religion.
Last month, my husband and I watched this documentary about women veterans who bore the scars of war. They suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, sexual assault, rape and homelessness. CPL (ret.) Sue Downes lost both of her legs and was struggling to get the help she needed to integrate back into life. She had her legs blown off above the knees and she got no support from the government. We watch these women as they struggled to regain their lives–normalcy. There was nothing there for them. There were no jobs–most of them are incapable of finding jobs. They had psychological problems. They were physically disabled.
It was hard to watch these women who served their country–the double amputee went through both Iraq wars–not getting the support in integrating back into civilian life. One woman who had a psychological problem and it took three months for her to be assigned to an officer who would actually listen to her case. One woman who was physically injured and didn’t want to be a burden to her husband, was yelled at because she had a service dog in a grocery store. Sue Downes encountered problems when she went into a fast food place with her service dog.
It was heartbreaking to see that one of these incredible women still felt like a failure in spite of the fact that she was doing her Masters after completing her Undergraduate Studies. It was encouraging though, to see two of the women who suffered from psychological problems take charge of their lives by venturing out instead of being isolated in their homes. One of them who graduated from college.
I watched a documentary on the rape and sexual assault of women in the US military on Independent Lens and the lack of support they receive. They are treated like they are the criminals and it broke my heart to see one woman’s husband actually break down and cry because his wife was raped by her commanding officer and his friend. The women who tried to file reports on what happened were made to feel that what happened was their fault. One was criticized for the way she was dressed. Another was told that she would ruined the life of the man who raped her–he was married.
Many of these rape victims find themselves forced to choose between speaking up and keeping their careers. Very few cases that are reported are prosecuted. Women are left with the shame of what happened to them and not being taken seriously. Their rights are violated again when they come forward with their stories and they are reprimanded or treated like the enemy. These women who gave their lives to serve the military have to struggle to rebuild their lives and fight for justice.
I hope that bringing to light this shameful secret of the US military and the stories of these brave women in the Oscar and Emmy nominated documentary, “The Invisible War” will make a difference. “We hope the film will affect lasting changes in the way the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault crimes and supports and cares for assault survivors,” said Kirby Dick. To that end, “The Invisible War” is a call for our civilian and military leadership to listen — and to act.
I saw this on WordPress and just had to share it. This documentary deals with the very disturbing and heartbreaking topic of gendercide. Imagine that being a girl in some parts in the world can be fatal. Imagine being a girl brings death to many innocent babies. Girls are devalued and seen as a burden to their families. Boys are given preference. When will those who murder baby girls realize that they are jeopardizing the future of their boys and their country? If they continue to get rid of girls, the boys will have no one to marry when they grow up. And how will they be able to bring into the world the boy babies they are so desperate to have?
Something must be done to stop this senseless act of gender killing. Girls are precious and valuable. They too are gifts from a heavenly Father who created both men and women in His image. In His eyes we are equals.
We need to speak out and continue to raise awareness of gendercide. In my opinion gendercide is a criminal act and the governments of China and India should treat it as such. Those who kill and abort girl babies should be arrested and charged with murder. This has been going on for too long and it’s time these governments take action and protect the rights of these innocent victims.
On their website, Causes.com explains that the “It’s a Girl” campaign is all about empowering activists to help tell the world that gendercide is real, it’s happening now, and there is something that all of us can do to put an end to it. Here are all the steps you can take to get involved with the movement:
To fight gendercide in China:
– Sign the petition urging world leaders to help end forced abortions, sterilizations, and coercive family planning under the One Child Policy in China
– Donate to Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, an organization fighting gendercide on the ground in China.
To fight gendercide in India:
– Sign the petition demanding that the Indian government take immediate and effective action to protect its female citizens.
– Donate to Invisible Girl Project, an organization with multiple initiatives to save young girls and provide for their basic needs in India.
To pledge your support to the “It’s a Girl” campaign:
– Take the pledge to take a stand against gendercide.
Take action now and join the fight against gendercide. The future of girls in China and India are at stake.
