TED2019
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: How film transforms the way we see the world
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Film has the power to change the way we think about ourselves and our culture. Documentarian and TED Fellow Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy uses it to fight violence against women, turning her camera on the tradition of honor killings in Pakistan. In a stirring talk, she shares how she took her Oscar-winning film on the road in a mobile cinema, visiting small towns and villages across Pakistan -- and shifting the dynamics between women, men and society, one screening at a time.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - Filmmaker
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes documentary films. She's the founder of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, dedicated to preserving Pakistan's history. Full bio
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes documentary films. She's the founder of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, dedicated to preserving Pakistan's history. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I'm a storyteller,
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but I'm also a troublemaker.
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(Laughter)
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And I have a habit
of asking difficult questions.
of asking difficult questions.
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It started when I was 10 years old,
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and my mother, who was raising
six children, had no time for them.
six children, had no time for them.
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At 14, fed up with my increasingly
annoying questions,
annoying questions,
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she recommended that I begin writing
for the local English-language newspaper
for the local English-language newspaper
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in Pakistan,
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to put my questions out
to the entire country, she said.
to the entire country, she said.
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(Laughter)
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At 17, I was an undercover
investigative journalist.
investigative journalist.
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I don't even think my editor knew
just how young I was
just how young I was
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when I sent in a story
that named and shamed
that named and shamed
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some very powerful people.
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The men I'd written about
wanted to teach me a lesson.
wanted to teach me a lesson.
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They wanted to shame me and my family.
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They spray-painted my name
and my family's name
and my family's name
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with unspeakable profanities
across our front gate
across our front gate
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and around our neighborhood.
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And they felt that my father,
who was a strict man of tradition,
who was a strict man of tradition,
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would stop me.
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Instead, my father stood
in front of me and said,
in front of me and said,
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"If you speak the truth,
I will stand with you,
I will stand with you,
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and so will the world."
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And then he got --
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(Applause)
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And then he got a group of people together
and they whitewashed the walls.
and they whitewashed the walls.
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(Laughter)
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I've always wanted my stories
to jolt people,
to jolt people,
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to shake them into having
difficult conversations.
difficult conversations.
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And I felt that I would be more effective
if I did something visual.
if I did something visual.
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And so at 21, I became
a documentary filmmaker,
a documentary filmmaker,
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turning my camera
onto marginalized communities
onto marginalized communities
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on the front lines in war zones,
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eventually returning home to Pakistan,
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where I wanted to document
violence against women.
violence against women.
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Pakistan is home to 200 million people.
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And with its low levels of literacy,
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film can change the way
people perceive issues.
people perceive issues.
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An effective storyteller
speaks to our emotions,
speaks to our emotions,
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elicits empathy and compassion,
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and forces us to look
at things differently.
at things differently.
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In my country, film had the potential
to go beyond cinema.
to go beyond cinema.
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It could change lives.
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The issues that I've always
wanted to raise --
wanted to raise --
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I've always wanted to hold up
a mirror to society --
a mirror to society --
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they've been driven
by my barometer of anger.
by my barometer of anger.
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And my barometer of anger
led me, in 2014, to honor killings.
led me, in 2014, to honor killings.
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Honor killings take place
in many parts of the world,
in many parts of the world,
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where men punish women
who transgress rules made by them:
who transgress rules made by them:
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women who choose
to marry on their own free will;
to marry on their own free will;
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or women who are looking for a divorce;
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or women who are suspected
of having illicit relationships.
of having illicit relationships.
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In the rest of the world, honor killings
would be known as murder.
would be known as murder.
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I always wanted to tell that story
from the perspective of a survivor.
from the perspective of a survivor.
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But women do not live to tell their tale
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and instead end up in unmarked graves.
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So one morning when
I was reading the newspaper,
I was reading the newspaper,
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and I read that a young woman
had miraculously survived
had miraculously survived
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after being shot in the face
by her father and her uncle
by her father and her uncle
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because she chose to marry a man
out of her free will,
out of her free will,
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I knew I had found my storyteller.
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Saba was determined to send
her father and her uncle to jail,
her father and her uncle to jail,
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but in the days after
leaving the hospital,
leaving the hospital,
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pressure mounted on her to forgive.
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You see, there was a loophole in the law
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that allowed for victims
to forgive perpetrators,
to forgive perpetrators,
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enabling them to avoid jail time.
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And she was told
that she would be ostracized
that she would be ostracized
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and her family, her in-laws,
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they would all be shunned
from the community,
from the community,
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because many felt that her father
had been well within his right,
had been well within his right,
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given her transgression.
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She fought on --
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for months.
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But on the final day in court,
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she gave a statement forgiving them.
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As filmmakers, we were devastated,
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because this was not the film
that we had set out to make.
that we had set out to make.
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In hindsight, had she pressed charges,
fought the case and won,
fought the case and won,
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hers would have been an exception.
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When such a strong woman is silenced,
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what chance did other women have?
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And we began to think about using our film
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to change the way people
perceived honor killings,
perceived honor killings,
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to impact the loophole in the law.
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And then our film was nominated
for an Academy Award,
for an Academy Award,
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and honor killings became headline news,
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and the prime minister,
while sending his congratulations,
while sending his congratulations,
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offered to host the first screening
of the film at his office.
of the film at his office.
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Of course, we jumped at the chance,
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because no prime minister in the history
of the country had ever done so.
of the country had ever done so.
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And at the screening,
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which was carried live
on national television,
on national television,
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he said something that reverberated
throughout the country:
throughout the country:
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"There is no honor
in honor killings," he said.
in honor killings," he said.
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(Applause)
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At the Academy Awards in LA,
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many of the pundits had written us off,
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but we felt that in order
for the legislative push to continue,
for the legislative push to continue,
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we needed that win.
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And then, my name was announced,
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and I bounded up the steps in flip-flops,
because I didn't expect to be onstage.
because I didn't expect to be onstage.
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(Laughter)
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And I accepted the statue,
telling a billion people watching
telling a billion people watching
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that the prime minister of Pakistan
had pledged to change the law,
had pledged to change the law,
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because, of course, that's one way
of holding the prime minister accountable.
of holding the prime minister accountable.
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(Laughter)
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And --
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(Applause)
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Back home, the Oscar win
dominated headline news,
dominated headline news,
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and more people joined the fray,
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asking for the loophole
in the law to be closed.
in the law to be closed.
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And then in October 2016,
after months of campaigning,
after months of campaigning,
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the loophole was indeed closed.
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(Applause)
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And now men who kill women
in the name of honor
in the name of honor
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receive life imprisonment.
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(Applause)
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Yet, the very next day,
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a woman was killed in the name of honor,
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and then another and another.
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We had impacted legislation,
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but that wasn't enough.
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We needed to take the film
and its message to the heartland,
and its message to the heartland,
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to small towns and villages
across the country.
across the country.
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You see, for me, cinema can play
a very positive role
a very positive role
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in changing and molding society
in a positive direction.
in a positive direction.
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But how would we get to these places?
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How would we get to
these small towns and villages?
these small towns and villages?
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We built a mobile cinema,
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a truck that would roll through
the length and breadth of the country,
the length and breadth of the country,
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that would stop
in small towns and villages.
in small towns and villages.
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We outfitted it with a large screen
that would light up the night sky,
that would light up the night sky,
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and we called it "Look But With Love."
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It would give the community
an opportunity to come together
an opportunity to come together
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and watch films in the evening.
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We knew we could attract men and children
in the mobile cinema.
in the mobile cinema.
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They would come out and watch.
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But what about women?
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In these small, rural communities
that are segregated,
that are segregated,
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how would we get women to come out?
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We had to work with prevailing
cultural norms in order to do so,
cultural norms in order to do so,
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and so we built a cinema
inside the cinema,
inside the cinema,
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outfitting it with seats and a screen
where women could go inside and watch
where women could go inside and watch
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without fearing
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or being embarrassed
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or harassment.
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We began to introduce everyone
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to films that opened up their minds
to competing worldviews,
to competing worldviews,
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encouraging children
to build critical thinking
to build critical thinking
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so that they could ask questions.
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And we expanded our scope
beyond honor killings,
beyond honor killings,
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talking about income inequality,
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the environment,
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talking about ethnic relations,
religious tolerance and compassion.
religious tolerance and compassion.
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And inside, for women,
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we showed them films
in which they were heroes, not victims,
in which they were heroes, not victims,
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and we told them how they could navigate
the court system, the police system,
the court system, the police system,
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educating them about their rights,
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telling them where they could seek refuge
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if they were victims of domestic violence,
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where they could go and get help.
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We were surprised that we were
welcomed in so many of the places
welcomed in so many of the places
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that we went to.
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Many of the towns had never seen
television or social media,
television or social media,
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and they were eager
for their children to learn.
for their children to learn.
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But there was also pushback and blowback
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with the ideas that
we were bringing with us.
we were bringing with us.
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Two members of our mobile
cinema team resigned
cinema team resigned
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because of threats from villages.
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And in one of the villages
that we were screening in,
that we were screening in,
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they shut it down
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and said they didn't want the women
to know about their rights.
to know about their rights.
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But on the flip side, in another village
when a screening was shut down,
when a screening was shut down,
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a plainclothes policeman got up
and ordered it back on,
and ordered it back on,
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and stood by, protecting our team,
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telling everyone that it was his duty
to expose the young minds
to expose the young minds
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to an alternative worldview
and to this content.
and to this content.
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He was an ordinary hero.
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But we've come across
so many of these heroes on our journey.
so many of these heroes on our journey.
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In another town, where the men said
that only they could watch
that only they could watch
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and the women had to stay home,
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a community elder got up,
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got a group of people together,
had a discussion,
had a discussion,
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and then both men and women
sat down to watch together.
sat down to watch together.
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We are documenting what we are doing.
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We talk to people.
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We adapt.
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We change the lineup of films.
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When we show men films
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that show perpetrators
of violence behind bars,
of violence behind bars,
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we want to hit home the fact
that if men are violent,
that if men are violent,
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there will be repercussions.
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But we also show films where men
are seen as championing women,
are seen as championing women,
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because we want to encourage them
to take on those roles.
to take on those roles.
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For women, when we show them films
in which they are heads of state
in which they are heads of state
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or where they are lawyers
and doctors and in leadership positions,
and doctors and in leadership positions,
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we talk to them and encourage them
to step into those roles.
to step into those roles.
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We are changing the way
people in these villages interact,
people in these villages interact,
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and we're taking our learnings
into other places.
into other places.
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Recently, a group contacted us
and wants to take our mobile cinema
and wants to take our mobile cinema
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to Bangladesh and Syria,
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and we're sharing our learnings with them.
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We feel it's really important
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to take what we are doing
and spread it across the world.
and spread it across the world.
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In small towns and villages
across Pakistan,
across Pakistan,
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men are changing the way
they interact with women,
they interact with women,
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children are changing
the way they see the world,
the way they see the world,
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one village at a time, through cinema.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - FilmmakerSharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes documentary films. She's the founder of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, dedicated to preserving Pakistan's history.
Why you should listen
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a film producer and journalist who has worked on 14 films for major networks in the United States and Britain. Her films include Children of the Taliban (with Dan Edge), The Lost Generation (about Iraqi exiles) and Afghanistan Unveiled. Her work has taken her around the world, where she has filmed and worked with refugees, women’s advocacy groups and human rights defenders. By bringing their voices to the outside world, she has often helped them bring about a critical change in their community.
Obaid-Chinoy helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that fosters and promotes community-wide interest in the culture and history of Pakistan. Citizens Archive works with thousands of children, teaching critical thinking skills and instilling a sense of pride about their history and identity.
Obaid-Chinoy is a TED2010 Fellow.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | Speaker | TED.com