Details of two seminars held at the13th IAWRT Asian Film festival at IIC, Delhi
MAKING RECORD: DOCUMENTING FEMINISMS
Feminism as a term and an idea has never seen as much common
usage as it does at the present moment. With the internet the idea has expanded
outwards from the common understanding of feminism being linked to
organizational activism and academic work, to include numerous campaigns,
expressive online projects and different forms of collectives, that may or may
not define themselves as activist.
How does one document a constantly evolving idea? The
documenting of feminism as movement, not a movement(s) – is to offer some
understanding of the movement of the idea of feminism in the world; to examine
genealogies in movements as well as interesting continuities and
discontinuities.
At the same time, given its dynamic nature, in some ways, even
the carrying out of feminist work in different forms, feminist practice, itself
becomes a kind of dynamic documentation of the ideas of feminism. Different
feminist gestures and initiatives in themselves become a way of theorizing
about feminism, of offering an interpretation of what feminism is. They suggest
a different way of defining documentation.
The seminar looks at this vibrant terrain through different
forms of feminist documentation practices. These will be: feminist publishing
house (Kali for Women/Zubaan); documentary theatre of Sushama Deshpande; Khabar
Lahariya, a rural women’s newspaper; contemporary feminist webzine The Ladies
Finger; a study of the numerous campaigns and initiatives of the last 3 years
by Vinita Sahasranaman and through the campus based movement Pinjra Tod.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a
universal problem. In most societies, irrespective of their caste, age or
status, women are subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and economic
violence. Having its origin in the patriarchal structure of society, societal
and cultural attitudes sometimes tolerate and also encourage such violent
behaviour. This panel hopes to discuss the challenges of reporting on GBV, the
ethical questions and concerns, the need for maintaining confidentiality,
concealing identities and preserving the dignity of the survivors and handling
these complicated stories sensitively.
