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Filmed
in Hi-8, A Mother's Lament recounts the tragedy of Shima Choudhury,
a young garment factory worker picked up by the police while
traveling with her boyfriend. 16-year-old Shima was allegedly
gang raped by four policemen later that night. She was then
sent to prison for "safe custody" where she died under mysterious
circumstances. Shima's case has become a landmark issue in
the Bangladeshi women's struggle against institutional oppression
and abuse of power. The case is now in appeal at the high
court. Rather than presenting the story as an investigative
piece, the video attempts to explore the issue from a personal
perspective - the sense of disempowerment and hopelessness
the family undergoes as it struggles to cope with the girl's
incarceration leading to her death. Interviews with the family
are joined with interviews of a cross-section of people, as
they voice their concerns regarding the state of human rights
in Bangladesh today.
About the Director ...
Yasmine Kabir
is an independent filmmaker. She was a member of the board
of directors of Berkeley Public Access Television. She was
also a founding member of "Narika", a Berkeley-based organisation
for battered women of South Asian descent and has worked directly
with the community. In 1996 Kabir made a 12 minute documentary
video on the neglect and ill treatment of Bangladeshi workers
by the Bangladeshi Embassy in Malaysia. As a consequence of
the film, the High Commissioner, along with several other
staff of the Embassy, were transferred. Currently, she is
working on a documentary about a young migrant Bangladeshi
worker in Malaysia.
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