Graphics by Mumtaz Hussain
In a year of social movements, political upheavals, and #MeToo moment, Pakistan also produced a film, which speaks up for women’s rights and helps hihglight issues often hushed up in conservative, and even several segments of liberal societies.
Verna – the story of a woman who speaks out against rape and injustice against women – stirred up Pakistan’s own moment of #UnbanVenrna moment on the social media.
The film has triggered a debate in the society, struggling with many challenges including the state of women’s rights despite the fact that a woman Benazir Bhutto, who was killed ten years agon in a bomb attack, twice led the country as prime minister, and many other women have held high-profile positions.
“The film (Verna) — which overcame an initial ban imposed because of its subject matter — has inspired Pakistani women to tap into the spirit of the viral #MeToo campaign to expose sexual harassment and create their own public platform for victims and their supporters,” a report in The New York Times noted.
Directed by Shoaib Mansoor, the film stars ace Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.
As noted by the Times’ correspondent Mehreen Zahra-Malik, “Verna” was banned for its “edgy content. But that ban could not withstand a plethora of comments on the traditional and social media and the #UnbanVerna led to its release with moderate success.
But perhaps much more important in the long run will be the discussion that the film has initiated in the thinking circles,
Actress Mahira Khan Credit: Bollywood Hungama/Wikimedia Commons
Actress Mahira Khan believes it to be a part of the #MeToo movement that started in America andd has snowballed in many countries.
Remaining silent in the face of injustice is “no longer an option,” the actress says, according to the Times.
“That’s what my character in the film does, she speaks out — and that’s what Pakistani media, audiences, social media users and fans have done by asking for the film to be unbanned,” she said in a recent interview, as cited in the Times news story.
The film appears to echo the real story of Mukhtar Mai, a woman who was gang-raped as a teenager in 2002 on the orders of a village council. This brutal treatment of Mai led to an international spotlight on Pakistani societal issues since Mai was subjected to the treatment as punishment because of Mai’s younger brother having a love affair with a woman.
Mai’s boldness to challenge her attackers and the cruel system made her a spokesperson for women against discriminatory treatment.
Verna is a continuation of recent efforts to expose societal injustices against women. Another Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinnoi has won Oscars for focusing on the plight and struggles of rape victims in her documentaries.
