On July 19th, Population First/ Laadli, along with Sahiyo India and Equality Now, hosted a screening of South Asia’s first fiction film on FGC titled, The Beginning. Produced by Equality Now, the film was written and directed by award-winning filmmaker and Sahiyo co-founder Insia Dariwala. The film adopts a survivor-centered approach that highlights the trauma caused by FGC to demonstrate how and why the practice must end.
The story bravely highlights one woman’s journey to end the generational trauma caused by the cut and centers around the call to action: “The cut can stop with you.” The film is currently being screened at various festivals around the world and has already won four awards and three official selections globally.
A large group of attendees from different walks of life attended the screening, including eminent personalities and theater veterans like Dolly Thakore and Mahabano Mody Kotwal, famous for their adaptation of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ play, as well as award-winning filmmaker and LGBQT rights activist Anirban Dhar (Onir). Actors Shishir Sharma, Sujata Mehta, Hunar Gandhi, and Rashmi Sachdeva, were also in attendance along with other activists including Majlis Legal Centre Director Audrey D’mello, leading gynecologist and Medical Director of NPA India Dr. Suchetra Dalvie, FGM/C survivor and medical practitioner Dr Eliza Kapadia, Dr. Julie Thekkudan of Equality Now, Program Director of Population First Yogesh Pawar, Sahiyo co-founder Aarefa Johari, and many others.
The screening was followed by two-panel discussions on using the creative medium to bring about positive change and how these types of media can inspire necessary conversations. Panelists discussed Sahiyo India's continued efforts to address FGM/C and stressed the need for a law banning FGM/C, as well as facilitating a continuous dialogue within communities to end this practice.
The audience was extremely moved by the film and spoke about how it holds the potential to strengthen awareness of FGM/C in the country.
The filmmaker Insia, whose main objective for the film is to motivate younger community members to question and end the practice of FGM/C, says she was elated to receive quite a few heart-warming messages from the audiences after the screening. But the one message that deeply touched her was from a Mumbai-based FGM/C survivor Sarah Shabbir* who wrote:
"My name is Sarah and I recently came across your work through an invitation for your film screening. I currently work at an organization where we focus on rehabilitating survivors of violence. I was deeply moved by your impactful efforts in addressing issues such as child sexual abuse and FGM. As a survivor myself, having experienced both, I feel a strong connection to your work and am eager to learn more about your journey. It would be an honor to connect with you someday and get to know more about your work. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be there for the screening but my colleagues who did attend gave me amazing feedback and I would love to attend another screening whenever it happens.”
*Name used with consent.