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Journalism of Courage
Pradhuma Sodha
The increasing violence against women may have got a lot of attention, but their voices are not always heard. Filmmaker Cecile Plantin’s short documentary When a Woman Speaks, Listen, aims to convey voices of women from all over India. So when her project was screened on Friday at the park opposite Regal cinema, Connaught Place, everyone watched and listened carefully.
Featuring monologues from feminists such as Vandana Shiva, Eve Ensler (creator of Vagina Monologues) and common Indian women, the 30-minute documentary is aimed at highlighting the problem of sexual violence in society.
From known faces to common women, Plantin’s documentary includes women who are not fluent in English. “People said that I should not include their stories as their English was not good. But that does not mean that she has not suffered in her life,” said Plantin, who has faced her share of opposition when she was trying to screen the film. “A group of men came up to me on the second day of the screening and told me to shut it down, as I was projecting a bad image of women,” she said.
She started working on the film after the December 16 Delhi rape case and made four trips to Rajasthan, Delhi and Kolkata interacting with the women there on a daily basis. Though the film features only Indian women, Plantin does not think that violence against women is a problem particular to India.
Pradhuma Sodha The reporter is an EXIMS Student The film will be screened at Dilli Haat on March 12 from 6 pm onwards
