The documentary, a girl in the river, was something that offered a stark, contrasting perspective, with what is considered commonplace in the country where I live, Singapore.
The practice of honor killings, something that is outlawed and not considered a significant piece of Singaporean culture is something that seems foreign, and alien when first introduced, as is something that carries with it all times, this growing sense of discomfort and unease. Something that is, perhaps even more horrendous however than the act itself, are the perspectives held by the perpetrators of the act themselves.
For instance, upon being interviewed by Obaid-Chinoy, the director of the documentary, the father adamantinely defended his actions and his perspective, stating that his daughter has “shamed [the family]” and that given that he would “[feed] her three times a day”, she was expected to follow his orders. This statement, something which I feel would be more appropriate in the context of discussing animals, deeply unsettled me. The idea that women are seen as animals, as objects seem highly disturbing to us, and yet, is something that might be commonplace in other societies, which just highlights the stark difference between values and beliefs across the human race as a whole.
Something else that has particularly stood out to me was the perspective of the prime minister, who was supportive of the overall message of the documentary and has already made moves to outlaw and prevent honor killings from taking place. Given the often negative connotations that are associated with politicians, I was pleasantly surprised to see this perspective and to see action being taken upon it. Of course, even with politicians support, whether or not the communities perspective will be swayed is to be decided.
I find your comment on how women were treated like animals very interesting, and I hadn’t quite thought of it that way. I completely agree with you, and I find it incredibly upsetting and frustrating that women are still objectified and treated like second-class citizens. In fact, the way Saba’s father disregarded the feelings of both Saba and her mother was quite disgusting.
I hadn’t done any additional research on the prime minister, so I didn’t realise that he had worked so hard to make a change. It is a nice surprise to know that someone is taking action, but I am worried that eliminating honour killings will be harder than just outlawing them, since the mindset of a large portion of society will also have to be changed.