The film follows the story of a teenage girl, Kainat Soomro who was allegedly raped in a village in Dadu, rural Sindh in 2007.
“As a Pakistani filmmaker and journalist I am so pleased and honored that Outlawed in Pakistan won an Emmy last night in New York,” a jubilant Nosheen told The Express Tribune.
“It was a film that took my co-director Hilke Schellmann and I five years to make. This was unbelievable and something that I could have never imagined as a little girl growing up in Lahore,” she added.
The 45-minute film was one of 15 short documentary films to be screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and also aired on PBS Frontline.
According to PBS, the documentary addresses deep rooted issues in Pakistan's society: "In Pakistan, women and girls who allege rape are often more strongly condemned than their alleged rapists. Some are even killed by their own families. For this unforgettable documentary, filmmakers Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann spent years tracing one alleged rape victim's odyssey through Pakistan’s flawed justice system—as well as her alleged rapists' quest to clear their names."
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
I know we often don't like speaking such things out to the world. It defames the name of Pakistan. And we want to be known for our good things. We prefer hiding them. But when years of hiding have not been able to cure the problem. Let's shout and see if anyone's respond. That won't defame us, if we respond rightly. If we get up and punish the ones who did that. A good nation is not the one without a bad person. It is one where a bad person is punished.
So proud of amazing documentary filmmakers who have the courage to hold rapists and violent men accountable. No more invisible abuse of women! No more silence on female abuse in Pakistan. Gender bias has to stop, women have to be protected and society has to be uplifted one issue at a time! Bravo!
@Asad Khan Also I would request you to read up on Kainat Soomro's case. How the legal system of our country and police harassed her and her family members got killed and how local jirgas supported the notion that instead of the culprits she should be killed because she was raped.
I completely support bringing such cases to light (which our governments try their best to hide). They highlight the weakness of our legal system and recognizing the problems we are in is the first step towards change.
@ Asad Khan I don't know what their intentions are but at least they are highlighting a very serious problem in Pakistani society. Rape is a serious crime in our society, recently even a PML-N MNA's sons gang raped a girl and got away with it because of their connections with the ruling party. The menace is existing in Pakistan to this extent and unfortunately, our legal institutions end up protecting the criminals rather than the victims.
Everything in Pakistan is not a RAW/MOSSAD/CIA conspiracy, our society is full of immoral people as well!
Kainat Soomro may be given the royalty.
I am not questioning the intentions but it is now becoming some sort of fashion, pick a victim, make a documentary, glee at the Emmy and then forget about the victim and the issue at large.
regards,