My fair lady

Far from affectations of feminism, two contrasting films reveal raw motivations of women in conflict.

What drives women to be at the heart of a terrorist operation, and in complete contrast, to gather peace in a country ripped apart by civil war? Two documentaries that separately illustrate these contrasting roles — both equally engaging — are part of the 5th Tri Continental film festival focusing on zones of war that is being screened across the country.

These docus shouldn’t be dismissed as being information-heavy films swamped with depressing details, for they actually follow somewhat of a storyline and indirect narrative, making it easy on the viewer to follow. The role of women in conflict — across religions, regions and classes — has ranged from one of destruction to constructive peacekeeping.

While there has been much documented on terrorists over the years, and Islamic ‘jihadis’ at that — the role of Islamic women remains in the background. In Brides of Allah, Israeli filmmaker Natalia Assouline takes us to Israeli prisons where Palenstinian women have been serving time for involvement in terrorist attacks in Israel.

The film moves back and forth between real stories of a handful of women who have spent much of their youth in prison, painfully so, yet they are defiantly proud of their sacrifice. It’s captivating to watch how each one of them reacts to the filmmaker’s questions — ‘Why violence, surely being educated, driven women you would know better than to unleash mass terror?’

These women are surprisingly and brutally honest — relating how and why they became jihadis. Even more interesting is how the filmmaker swiftly captures other probable intentions (besides religion) simmering under the surface, deeply personal and complex some. The images are lingering and the effect, blasphemous.

In sharp contrast is documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, where women in their more traditional form play the part of safekeepers of family. While warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor unleashes mass terror in Liberia, West Africa, women rise where their men have failed. In late 1980s murder, rape, torture is commonplace in the Liberian countryside. Reflecting the helplessness of her entire community, one woman decides to brings women of the country together in a campaign for peace.

Women flock to be be by her side, giving their all. Deny your husbands sex, their leader advises the women, till your husbands are compelled to speak up against the situation marring the country. It is captivating to see how the union finally manages to get the president to hold peace talks with rebels. When peace talks fail, the union forms a human chain to keep the politcos and rebels behind closed doors till they come to a concensus.

These are documentaries that are certainly worth taking out time to watch, especially since they are accessible. This festival, or “travelling screen”, organised by Breakthrough, a human rights organisation, will also be screened in Kolkata and Bangalore in this month. “The compilation of 28 films has been curated to represent Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will also travel to educational institutions and communities across the country,” says festival director Alika Khosla. If a group of you are keen to view any of the films in this festival, you can contact Breakthrough and a screening can be organised.