Listen to Her
The story
Listen to Her focuses on two forms of abuse that women are grappling with during the lockdown – overburden of work and a surge in domestic violence. The film highlights the burden women face across class and caste.
Director’s note
There was a surge in domestic violence during the pandemic due to the lockdown. Many women found themselves locked up with their abusers. One morning I read an article in the New York Times, ‘When Mom’s Zoom Meeting is the One that has to Wait’, it reaffirmed that this overburdening of work is also a form of abuse. So I spontaneously sat down to write a short script that brought these two issues together. The irony of “STAY HOME, STAY SAFE” was not lost on many of us.
The very next day I shot the film in my apartment with my son as the co-actor. And my two phones doubled up as a camera and a sound device. My live-in cook was the camera operator and my team, from their respective homes, joined in on zoom. The 7-minute film encouraged women to speak up and for all of us to listen when they do. I shared national helpline numbers at the end of the film. They were flooded with calls and many commented on social media seeking local numbers. With the help of women’s organizations, I collated helpline numbers from 17 states. Our lives are deeply intertwined, and so this was an attempt to respond to realities beyond our own.
Supported by: UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and the South Asia Foundation (Madanjeet Singh Foundation)
BTS
