Learning From The Film ‘Daughters Of India’

On 23rd September, a day after the International Peace Day, 55 Bhavishya Yaan students of the GK Marg Municipal School were taken through a screening of ‘Daughters of Mother India’, which won the National Film Award for best film by the President of India.

In this documentary, Indian journalist and filmmaker Vibha Bakshi questions how Indian society is changing after the horrific rape and murder of Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old medical student from Delhi in December 2012. Although an Anti-Rape Law was passed and radical changes were made within the police force and the judiciary, gender violence still persists. It probes local judges, police officers, teachers, activists and even street performers that are fighting against gender violence on a daily basis, while simultaneously showing the critical role that each one of these must play in bringing about real change in India.

The children saw how for weeks, mass protests filled the streets of India and the country witnessed gender consciousness and extraordinary solidarity by ordinary citizens like never before. The 9th and 10th grade students had a lot to debate and discuss about each other’s views on how they felt when watching the movie.

Rotaryannes Ekta Shah and Priyanka Jatia were present during the screening so as to respond to the queries sensitively. Also present were life-skill coordinator Ms. Prajakta from Vidya foundation along with other teachers and Byculla school coordinator, Rashmi Bapna.