Pakistan puts women filmmakers' work on display at international film festival

The 7th Women International Film Festival came to a close in Islamabad on Sunday after showcasing films from countries like Argentina, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Turkiye, the UK and the US.

The two-day festival featured 18 short films, including two by Pakistani filmmakers, "Baira Gharakh" by esteemed director Mehreen Jabbar and "Awaaz" by Halimah Tariq.

Unfortunately, the censor board blocked the third Pakistani submission, "My Mother's Daughter," directed by Ahmen Khawaja and Mariam Khan, from being screened at the festival because its plot revolvs around the controversial topic of child marriage and the story of a Christian girl's forced conversion.

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The founder of the 7th Women International Film Festival, Madeeha Raza, expressed her disappointment at the ban on the Pakistani film "My Mother's Daughter" by the censor board, stating that it was "very unfortunate" for the festival to be discouraged from showcasing much-needed voices in Pakistan. Raza lamented that the festival was able to screen films from other countries, but it was unable to showcase one of its own.

Prashant Thaker, co-writer of the US entry "The Woman Under the Tree", expressed the hope that more female filmmakers from Pakistan would have the opportunity to showcase a true representation of the country. The festival, which aims to promote female filmmakers, will continue to screen short films in Karachi and Lahore on March 16 and 18, respectively.