Sharmeen Obaid – Documentaries

Outline:
1- Introduction
2- About the author
3- Historical background of saving face
a. Types of violence in saving face
i. Domestic violence
ii. Acid attack
iii. Structural violence
4- Historical background of a girl in the river
a. Types of violence in A girl in the river
i. Honour killing
ii. Family pressure
5- Impact of documentaries on Pakistan
6- Conclusion

1- Introduction:

 Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy made history in Febraury 26, 2012, becoming the first Pakistani to win an
Academy Award for her short documentary Saving Face.
 Saving Face showcases the plight of hundreds of women across Pakistan who fall victim to acid
violence each year.
 It tells the stories of two acid-attack survivors name Zakia and Rukhsana, their arduous attempts to
bring their assailants to justice and the charitable work of London-based Pakistani plastic surgeon
Dr. Muhammad Jawad.
 Dr. Jawad strives to help these women put this horrific act behind them and move on with their lives.
 In 2016, she won her second Oscar for ‘A girl in the river’ which has incredibly positive messages in
it too.
 The documentary follows the story of a nineteen year old girl who survives an honor killing attempt
by her father and uncle.
 The protagonist has a solid stance on not forgiving her attackers.
 However, the public pressures her into forgiving.
 By doing that the attackers are freed and can return home.
 Both documentaries show the patriarchal culture of Pakistani society and depict structural and direct
violence in the form of honor killing and domestic violence.
 These documentaries are an intimate look inside the Pakistani society, illuminating each woman’s
journey while showing how reformers are tackling this vexing problem.
2- About the author:

 Pakistani education activist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy made it to The New York
Times’s Women of Impact list in April 2015 as the Times celebrated 50 women who have made the
biggest difference in the world over the last year.
 Her most recent film, Song of Lahore, received a standing ovation at the Tribeca Film Festival.
 She made history on Febraury 26, 2012 by becoming the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award
for her short documentary Saving Face.
 Investigative journalist and visual storyteller, Sharmeen was a faculty member in the media sciences
department at SZABIST Karachi.
 She started her film company, SOC Films in Karachi in 2011.
 She is also the president of The Citizens Archive of Pakistan, a non-profit organization dedicated to
cultural and Historic Preservation.
3- Historical background of Saving Face:

 The films starts with London based Pakistani born plastic surgeon Dr. Muhammad Jawad going to
Pakistan to operate on Zakia who wanted a divorce from her husband but could not get the divorce
because her husband believed it was a matter of honor.
 So when she went to court to do so, he said that he would make an example of her and right outside
the main courtroom, he threw acid on her face.
 Another woman name Rukhsana says that her husband threw acid onto her face and then her sister in
law threw gasoline on her and her mother in law set her afire.
 They locked her in a room intending for her to die.
 The husband was arrested and looks straight into the camera while saying his wife set herself on fire.
 This heartbreaking film has relevance to the cruelties toward women that are sanctioned in many
lands.
a) Types of violence in “Saving Face.”

 Acid attacks happen around the world but they are most prevalent in South Asia.
 Nearly 80% of victims are women and most of the assailants are men often husbans, fathers and
rejected suitors.
 It is a kind of honour crime most frequently committed against women who have dared to reject
sexual advances, turned down a marriage proposal or seek a divorce.

 Domestic violence:

 In the case of Zakia, her husband was a drug addict and used to beat her frequently.
 About 70 to 90 percent of Pakistani women are subjected to domestic violence.
 Domestic violence perpetuated upon a spouse can precede the mainstream of children.
 This can in turn leave a long term emotional and psychological impact Such as behavioural
disturbances with the child replicating the abuse.

 Acid attack:

 Zakia faced an acid attack after her exit from the courtroom.
 According to the Acid Survivors Trust International, 80% of acid attack victims are women making
it part of gender based violence.

 Structural violence:

 Rukhsana, an acid survivor, had to reconcile with her husband because she has no societal support to
bring her children up.
4- Historical background of “A girl in the river: The price of forgiveness.”

 The story starts with a girl named Saba.

 Saba wanted to marry a guy named Qaiser.
 Saba’s family had issues with her marrying the guy as he did not belong to the same financial state
and the family too didn’t have the same social standing as Saba’s family.
 The father and uncle wanted to marry her to a person of their choice.
 But Saba did not listen to them.
 Without telling them, she went and did court marriage with Qaiser.
 The father and uncle though infuriated more than ever. However, they realized that they could not do
much now.
 So they went to Qaiser’s house and asked Saba to come with them so that they at least get to the
rituals properly and marry her according to the customs.
 It was a respite for the couple that despite the hurdles they could now live in peace.
 But Saba’s father and uncle had something else in their mind.
 On the way back, they stopped their car on a deserted road near a river.
 Both of them started beating her mercilessly.
 The father took out the gun to shoot her.
 The plan was to kill her and dump her into the river.
 But at that point, some divine intervention happened.
 She resisted and the bullet which was destined to pierce her temple area got misfired and brushed her
cheeks by leaving her severely wounded but not dead.
 The family got paranoid.
 Too scared to fire another round, they put her inside a sack, tied it and threw it into the river.
 Somehow the knot opened by itself and Saba was able to come out from the sack.
 Almost lifeless and experiencing agonizing pain, Saba crawled back to life.
  Doctors treated her and the police authorities started to investigate the case.

 Types of violence in “A girl in the river.”

“One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime. This is an appalling human
rights violation. Yet it remains one of the invisible and under-recognized pandemics of our time.”
States Nicole Kidman, a UN ambassador

 Honour killing:

 On asking Saba’s father whether he was ashamed of what he had done, he replied that he was not
ashamed.
 He said that he was proud of what he did.
 He is sure that this would in turn bring more honor to his family.

 Family pressure:

 In this case, society face Saba and her husband’s family to reach an amicable compromise.
 Everybody except Saba believed that her father and uncle had done no such wrong that they should
rot in the prison.
 And so eventually she is coerced to take back the case against her father and uncle.
5- Impacts of documentaries on Pakistani society:

 As an investigative journalist, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy feels that she has to address issues that
people do not want to discuss.
 It is important to address issues instead of running away from them and the first step is to accept that
we have faults just like every other country.
Impacts:

 Her films have helped spread messages to communities that have previously been unaware of the
issues.
 Communities have become better equipped at addressing and spreading awareness about these
issues.
 With the help of the media, non-governmental organizations and the active public, the people can
organize into bodies that can effectively combat violence against marginalized communities.

 These films will now be able to reach a wider audience.

 Their main goal was to tell their story and showcase the way many women around the world are
impacted by acid violence.
 She gives such criticism short shrift, pointing out that honour killings have been a focus for activists
within Pakistan for decades while her film’s contribution was to bring this to national and
international attention.
 In 2016, she won her second Oscar for A girl in the river. After her win, a previously stalled honour
killing bill was passed in Pakistan.
6- Conclusion:

 Sharmeen won Oscar for her two documentaries: Saving face and A girl in the river.
 Saving face highlighted acid violence that is most prevalent in the Seraiki belt in the Punjab
province.
 Officially, there are over 100 cases of acid violence reported in Pakistan every year, though it is
estimated that the real numbers are far higher.
 This documentary reported about the acid victims who met with a doctor to save their faces.
 In 2016, she won her second Oscar for A girl in the river, a documentary about a 19 year old Saba,
whose father and uncle try to kill her when she marries a man of her choice.
 Both these documentaries show different types of violence against women.
 However, the narrative of these films was to engage the audiences and bring light to these issues.
 After these documentaries, laws on honour killings were redrafted to ensure that the perpetrators are
punished and victims are protected.
 It gave hope to many women around the country who are still struggling for the basic rights of their
survival.