New short-film 'Great Names' explores how girls are stopped from reaching full potential

It focuses on how they are named after great personalities but made to stay at home

KARACHI: When a child is born, he or she is often named after a famous personality or given a name with a greater meaning. And yet, it often happens that when the child, especially a girl, grows up, she is not to allowed to fulfill her potential or follow in the footsteps of the person she was named after.

It is this hypocrisy that a new short film - titled Great Names - talks about. It stars Erum Ero and Anwar Iqbal Baloch and has been produced under VSH Films, and directed by Shahmir Ahsanullah.

Great Names shows a story of Khadija, named after the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Khadija grows up to be a businesswoman, is unmarried and wants to marry a man younger than her, but is pressured by her parents and society against it.



Since its online release on July 31, Great Names has created much buzz, garnering over 60,000 views. For the director, the idea stemmed from a real-life experience. “When I was a kid, I was beaten up by my cousin. She punched me so hard and I also punched her to take my revenge. But my aunt only stopped me and told me to 'never hit a girl.' I asked her why and she said ‘Because girls are weak’ which made no sense as my cousin had punched me so hard,” said Ahsanullah. “As I grew up I realised, the biggest problem in the world is when people think they are powerful and others are weak.”

PHOTO:FILE

The film-maker believes that mindset was the reason of all the differences and the injustice and especially, the gap between the two genders.

So far, the response to the short film has been quite interesting. While the majority relates to its message of not clipping the wings of women  and letting them follow their own path, some are criticising Ahsanullah for comparing modern women with Hazrat Khadija (RA).

Responding to the criticism, the director said, “Since Pakistan is an Islamic country, I used the example of Hazrat Khadija (RA), to make it more relatable. But the idea remains universal, which is that all great personalities have struggled so hard to achieve what they want, they were free minds that refused to live in ignorance.”

He continued, “This video depicts how our society eagerly names girls after great personalities but does not want them to follow in their footsteps. What we do not realise is that the name earned was through sheer hard work and dedication. Great Names is just one such depiction.”

Watch the video here:


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