SONRISE: Amidst Anguish, Tainted Providence And A Fragile Hope Of Evolution

Gender inequality is a hot topic for any discourse – Never ending arguments ensue, dissentient voices are raised, and matter of fact justifications are also provided. But come to think of it what is the use of it all until one gets to the root cause of the predicament and examines the prime mover of things? Vibha Bakshi has done just that. Her film Son rise is an intense, compelling and a facund portrayal of why things are the way they are!

Vibha, a journalist turned filmmaker spent a year and a half in the Jat heartland and came out with a film that “puts the shame where it belongs!” According to the census report of 2011 in Haryana, males outnumber females by 1.6 million. According to the same census report Haryana was the state that has the lowest sex ratio among all 29 states. This was primarily due to the rampant sex-determination and female foeticide which has earned the region its notorious title of ‘Kudi-Maar’ (the land of the daughter killers). Hence it is surely not surprising when Vibha says, “one policeman told my husband that if I didn’t drop the film, the car in which I was seated might just be blown up!” Vibha spent one and a half years in the lanes and bylanes of Haryana to know “Where these men were coming from?”

It was two years ago when Daughters of Mother India was being screened, she came to know about this man in Haryana who got married to a multiple-rape victim. However, she didn’t have any other lead. She didn’t know where in Haryana was he from or what was his name. In the course of her meanderings did she finally find him. But as Vibha puts it, “to get him to talk was the hardest part.” Vibha quips, “For the initial meetings, I just told him that I wanted to talk and I never had my camera with me. We just talked and then one fine day, his wife came out and she was the first one to speak to the camera!”

When one watches the documentary, the first feeling that one goes through is the sheer pathetic mentality of the men in those areas. One cannot help but dwell on the pertinent question of how it all began and what was the catalyst of the goings on in there? Was it because of the women of the previous generations who raised their sons with an unnecessary sense of entitlement? Was it because of the men who thought it was their birth-right to curb the women the way they wanted to - and the practise of which was perhaps passed on to the generations to come? The sad part is an answer to it is not to be found. All we understand and see is that this mental make up was a part and parcel of life so much so that any kind of nonconformity with that attitude is stigmatised and scoffed at!

“Yeh Mardo Ki Jagah Hai Aurato Ka Yaha Koi Kaam Nahi” (This place is just meant for the menfolk, the women are not allowed in here) thundered one of the Khap leaders at one of the village gathering with a palpable amount of disdain and haughtiness in his countenance.

Everyone in the milieu depicted is aware of the atrocities that take place against women even before they are born. Female foeticide, female infanticide, gangrapes, women abduction, women have to be veiled so on and so forth!

Imagine how unfortunate and deplorable for a little girl would it be to be abducted from far flung areas like Assam, Bengal, (because of the sheer dearth of women and to keep the baby(boy) making machinery grinding and how.) In one of the scenes of the documentary, A veiled lady is seen sharing the ‘Khatiya’ with her also veiled ‘mother-in-law’. Through the course of the conversation we come to know that she was abducted from her native place in Assam and was brought there, and was forced to get married. When asked how does she feel about what she went through, from behind the veil, she haplessley replies, “Phas gayi!” (I feel trapped, ambushed) – mind you the mother-in-law sits right next to her and has nothing to say. We don’t quite know what she feels, does she feel guilty about the upbringing she gave to her son, does she feel angry at the sheer temerity of her daughter-in-law to speak out her mind in front of the camera or has she already retired to her fate. A fate that allows the men of the area to hurl all sorts of atrocities on the women. As if she has come to terms with the fact that such is the plight of women there. God knows!

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Today when we talk about freedom, listen to fiery speeches on intolerance and women empowerment, this film is an eye opener of sorts to the actual imbroglio women face on a day in day out basis! However, there are whiffs of change in the air. There are men like Jitender Chattar who married a Gang-rape victim and pledged to bring her justice. Chattar is keeping no stones unturned in his intrepid efforts to do it. Today he is almost bankrupt with constant false cases being hurled at him and people threatening to kill him. He stands like a rock in face of temptations and intimidations alike. Even though the local justice system has let him down, his faith in the Indian judiciary is steady and he is all geared up to move to the high court!

There is Sunil Jaglaan, the Bibipur village Pradhan and a father of two daughters who is initiating the much-needed step of incorporating women in the decision-making process. There is Baljit Singh Malik, an influential Khap leader who is leading a drive to eschew the tradition of veiled women, he also stands firm with his call to end female foeticide.

Well, at the end of it all, we all know change is the only thing that is permanent. However, all changes take their own time. Now, everything is holding on to HOPE! And I am afraid, the grip is fragile. A hope that Mr Chattar gets his justice which has been long due, A hope that the intiatives by Sunil Jaglan and Baljit Singh Malik gains momentum instead of facing a silent death due to oppositions by the very mentality they are so intrinsically a part and product of.