Slum girls make documentaries; celebrate Women’s Day in Mumbai
The films reflect the experiences and emotions of the girls, who are in the age bracket of 10 to 16 years. The girls shot the films themselves. They were very attached to the peruvali outside their school and they decided to make to the video on her. Dahi Handi is not only about breaking the matki, but also about the unity and strength these girls demonstrate, said coordinator of Vacha Trust, Nischint Hora.
Hora feels that despite the gender discrimination the girls are going to face as women, we do not have a formal policy, except for a legislation that imposes a ban on female foeticide and child marriages.
In a bid to raise awareness about the girl child, Vacha Trust released three publications, On Threshold of Youth and Gender edited by Dr Vibhuti Patel, director, SNDT University, Mumbai;Experiencing Girlhood Stories from Bastis in Mumbai, edited by Sonal Shukla and Nischint Hora and Bole Kishori Documentation of Girls’ Self Expressions edited by Medhavinee Namjoshi. The books contain stories told by the girls, poems written by them as also their paintings and pictures of their art work, said Hora. The event also saw a photo exhibition of photographs clicked by the girls.
Well known theatre personality Divya Jagdale read from the books. Gandhian scholar Dr Usha Thakkar and TF Thekkekara (IAS), former member secretary, Maharashtra State Commission for Women were the chief guests for the event.