GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020 - Because We Are Girls
GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020
The Pooni sisters, Jeeti, Kira, and Salakshana, are seen bracing as they prepare for the final verdict in a case that has been affecting them for years. Growing up in a Sikh Punjabi - Canadian family in Williams Lake, British Columbia, the three sisters endured sexual abuse from a male cousin. For years they stayed silent, fearful of the shame their confessions would bring to the Pooni family.
As the sexual assault trial approaches, Jeeti, Kira, and Salakshana reflect on why they stayed quiet about their horrific abuse for years. The film’s title Because We Are Girls, comes from the traditional Indian notion that women are meant to be subservient to males. South Asian groups tend to have extremely patriarchal societies. When discussing their brother Jesse, the youngest of the Pooni family, the sisters feel that their parents love him more. Their mother and father did not feel their family was complete until they were blessed with a son. Jeeti, Kira, and Salakshana felt that because their cousin was older and a male, that they would not be able to speak about what happened to them. They feared that no one in their family would believe them, or worse, say that they are the ones to blame.
Because We Are Girls focuses more on traditional Indian values and how these are reflected within families, rather than revealing details of abuse. In Punjabi culture and South Asian communities as a whole, dishonour remains prevalent. Through family dynamics it is instilled in Indian youths that they should be obedient to their elders and with females, they should be subservient. During the Pooni sisters’ childhoods, their mother sponsored her family to come to Canada and live in their house. Children are expected to behave, listening to anyone older than them, especially males. Family members are permitted to punish children even if they are aunts, uncles, or older cousins.
Because We Are Girls also explores how Bollywood films have influenced how they viewed romantic relationships. Growing up the sisters enjoyed creative play, often re-enacting scenes from films and singing and dancing along to Bollywood songs. Classic Bollywood reflects the patriarchal aspects of Indian society, showing scenes like the woman apologizing to her husband by touching his feet. If the man moved his feet, he did not accept the apology, shunning the wife, who would often kill herself out of shame. Watching these films as young girls, the Pooni sisters instilled in themselves that the men in their culture were always in the right, it was the woman’s duty to keep their men comfortable, even at the expense of her own safety and happiness.
Director Baljeet Sangra tackles the subject matter of Because We Are Girls with tender care. Their abuser is never named, the film instead serves as a portrait of strength and sisterhood between Jeeti, Kira, and Salakshana. Each sister has dealt with the abuse in their own way, and each one suffers differently but they are able to stand together and seek justice. Their daughters are allowed to witness their aunts’ and mothers’ stories of abuse, able to understand and break the cycle of favouring men. By focusing on the patriarchal roots of Punjabi culture and the different ways these values are instilled, the film is able to provide context as to why the Pooni sisters were so fearful to come forward with their stories of abuse. Now, they are confidently themselves, hoping that by talking about their experiences they can change how sexual assault survivors and women as a whole, are perceived in Indian culture.