To find this out Sancharika Samucha, a woman’s communicators forum had organized an interaction program on “Portrayal of women in Nepali movies, Tele-serials and advertisements.”
The conference hall at Himalayan hotel, Kupandol was full of celebrities, which included Yadav Kharel to Sarita Lamichane. There were also directors like Tulsi Ghimire, Ujjwol Ghimire and Rishi Lamichane. The meet also included film critic Dr. Pradeep Bhattarai. Also there were representatives from add agencies and media.
The interaction kicked of with Dr. Bhattarai’s paper presentation. His paper said that almost all the Nepali screen items portrayed women in very conventional way apart from some exceptions like Kanyadan, Chelibeti, Numafung and Sindur, which have voiced strongly against the existing discriminatory practices.
He also argued that instead of acknowledging women’s changing role in the society, films portray women more as a commodity, he said while explaining his paper.
Though Dr. Bhattarai, did not seem to be gender sensitive in his write-up, he did try to raise the concern that it’s high time Nepali entertainment industry focused on gender sensitivity.
Veteran director Kharel also agreed with Dr. Bhattarai. However, his explanation was more satisfying than others present there. Even when he did not pretend to be gender sensitive in screening women character in his project. He said that films are still showing the images of women as housewives. “Though society has changed a lot, we have failed to bring in the positive images of women. We have not been able to capture the image of our confident daughters who are also successful professional women.”
But ironically, Ujjwol Ghimire did not agree to the fact that women have changed within this one and half decade (period of feminist move in Nepal). He said that his movies did not have strong female character because his stories are taken from the society and he hasn’t been able to find such worthy women idols for his movies. Ujjwol forgot that women are no less than men are today. Dear directors, thousands of women have been migrated to the foreign land, and these very women contribute 11 per cent of the total remittance. May I also remind you that there are cases where, even in the absence of male member in the family (considered to be the head of the family) women are managing their house and bringing up their children perfectly.
Not only amidst the pain of missing husbands but also mourning in the memory of demise husband women are performing boldly in the society.
Despite these facts, Ujjwol denies that society has changed. He could not accept that slowly and gradually patriarchal structure of the society is getting weak.
He also seemed unaware of the fact that extreme torture has led thousands of women to the battlefield and they are performing as men. Along with giving continuity to the new generation, women are also playing with gun so as to fill the gap between extreme poor and rich, and to end all forms of discrimination.
It’s truly amazing that he can see the other changes in the society but not the fact that today’s women have dual role. (Unlike the men), that of good housewives and professional working women.
These Nepali women who lack access to parental property are generating enough money to serve their family. Ujjwol had no idea that the women who remain busy in household work dawn till late nights are also one of the high contributors in national economy.
Looks like he knows nothing about women apart form exposing women as sex commodity in his films, who remain voice less and suppressed all the time, who can’t raise voice against suppression and inequity.
“Nora”, is his definition of women, a female character of a Drama entitled ‘A Doll’s House’, who is treated just as commodity in the drama, which reflected women’s status in western world during 60s.
I was able to heave a sigh of relief when Tulsi Ghimire and Krishna Malla said that women are indeed powerful. But my relief was short lived when they elaborated their speech “Women are so powerful that they can sell enough tickets just with their smile when men can’t even sell one.”
These directors don’t know that a remote village’s Maili Didi too knows what is marital rape. Saili Didi of same village knows that there should be no more violence in the country. They don’t know that Thuli and Kanchi in the villages know that they can play important role in restoring peace in the country.
These directors don’t even know that it’s not only male young leaders contributing in the Nepali politics. But it’s also ladies like Ram Kumari Jhakri who all the time remains ready to sacrifice her life for democracy. It’s not only the boys staging protest on the street demanding complete democracy; there is also equal number of girls speaking against autocracy. They still don’t know that after enjoying more than 12 years of democracy, illiterate to literate…young to old…women from dalit to all other underprivileged community … have become conscious about their rights.
They forgot the factual claim of Simone de Beauvoir that ‘one is not born but rather becomes, a woman’. They don’t know that empowered women means also those who sell cow milk in shops in order to support education of their tiny siblings. It’s not necessary that women should wear western dress and speak English to be empowered. This 10-year’s conflict has also empowered Maili and Saili of remote village. Badi (a women community whose traditional profession was flesh trade) women of Far Western region too know they have to have citizenship rights.
Dear, directors their life can also be defined in the films. Their portrayal of life also can give profit to you all. Only thing you should do is that present their story in systematic way.
Only thing is that you should not discriminate them when screening on the films. Hundreds and thousands of stories can be created positively for Nepali movies. A female centric film can also bring in fame and name and money for directors and producers. You can balance the role of male and female.
Besides generating name, fame and money directors should also teach the society through their creations. They should guide the society.
Though Sarita Lamichane and Sarmila Malla silently agreed to what the directors like Ghimire and other claimed, now it’s for us to decide. Shouldn’t we oppose the version of these directors? Force them to acknowledge many empowered and changed roles of women in our society? It’s high time we questioned them about our roles in the society.
Again it’s for us to decide. Should they be allowed to remain gender bias in their creations? Should women be portrayed as sex commodities only? Haven’t women of the 21st century done enough to deserve more than that?
– Sangeeta Rijal
