Dubai - Brit filmmaker tells what inspired her to shoot documentary on Delhi gangrape, murder.
Published: Tue 15 Mar 2016, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Thu 17 Mar 2016, 7:23 AM
"When I first met Mukesh's mother she had a brick in her hand. She wanted to hurl it at me," Director of the controversial documentary, India's Daughter, tells Khaleej Times.
The 'Mukesh' Leslee Udwin is talking about is Mukesh Singh - one of the six men thrust into the world's spotlight after being convicted of the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder.
Speaking exclusively to Khaleej Times from Dubai on Monday, British-filmmaker Udwin said she was inspired to shoot the documentary after witnessing the month-long uproar from the nation's people fol-lowing the attack.
"It is the only country I have seen stand up for women's rights with vigour like this. I fell in love with their passion."
Candidly opening up about the two and a half year process which left her "in a dark place", Udwin recalls her first meeting with Mukesh's mother and father.
About the Delhi gang-rape and murder
On December 16,2012, A 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern, Jyoti Singh was beaten, gang raped, and tortured in a private bus in which she was traveling with her friend. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend. Thirteen days after the assault, Jyoti was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treat-ment, but died from her injuries two days later. The incident generated widespread national and international coverage and was widely condemned, both in India and abroad.
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"I got to speak to the families of the convicted men mostly just by door stopping. Initially Mukesh's parents - who's other son, Ram, was also convicted - were hesitant to talk."
But it was his mother who persuaded Mukesh to appear in the documentary.
What unfolded since has sparked a global movement for gender equality through Udwin's new initiative, Think Equal.
Journey for change
The 23-year-old victim of the 2012 Delhi attack, Jyoti Singh - now affectionately called 'India's Daughter' - tragically passed away on December 29, 2012.Since her death, India has seen a 35 per cent increase in rape assaults being reported by women, but according to Udwin, it has also unravelled a huge failing, globally.
"We, as a world, have failed to educate our children's hearts. We have only educated their heads be-cause we are so focused on career, skills and money."
After spending 31 hours interviewing seven rapists incarcerated at the Tihar Jail in Delhi - 16 hours of which was with Mukesh - Udwin says his candid confession and lack of empathy was alarming.
"Rather shockingly, every prisoner I spoke to held nothing back. They felt they did nothing wrong. One man I spoke to who violated a 5-year-old girl said he did so because 'she was a beggar girl, her life was of no value'. Those were his exact words."
That was the turning point for Udwin. A victim of rape herself, she says she felt no anger towards the men because they were "programmed by a mindset".
They were from a community where violence was a way of life.
"Mukesh's mother told me she was beaten regularly. They live and breath this as the norm."
"Living in a world where one in five women are raped, and one in three, globally, are subjected to violence because of gender, Udwin says this is "not an India-centric issue".
"Violations of human rights take place when no empathy is present. Not one of these men felt empathy because they were not educated on how to feel empathetic."
And when asked how they would react if their own mothers, sisters or daughters were subjected to such violence by a man, all of the rapists responded in the same way.
"They flew into a rage. They said they would want to kill the perpetrator. That shows the complete lack of empathy. They are unable to generalise the emotion out."
Banned in India
Since the release of 'India's Daughter' in 2015, the documentary has been banned in India. A decision which Udwin says "shocked" her.
"I was totally unprepared for the ban. India has reacted in a misguided way. This was an opportunity for the country to stand up and join forces with the rest of the world to do something about a global issue."
"It was India's men and women pouring out onto the streets to fight for the rights of women that inspired me. The passion is there. The ban continues to upset me."
Admitting the experience has left a "stain on her soul", she says it is utterly clear that what these men did was wrong. But now it is the world's responsibility to educate.
"Social-emotional learning is what is missing. We have to broaden the contents of education, far from just teaching academics."
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
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