When I first heard about how the late Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch was killed via “honor killing,” it didn’t seem real at first. Why would people do such a thing, especially since she was strangled by her own brother? But in reality, these are common in Pakistan and around 1,100 women and girls became victims in 2015.
To understand and learn more about why honor killings still happen, Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be holding a talk this Friday (Nov. 24). Her discussion will be on violence against women in Pakistan, which will be followed by a screening of her 2015 documentary film A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.
The film follows the life of an 18-year-old honor killing survivor. It won an Oscar for Best Documentary in the Short Subject category last year. In Sharmeen’s acceptance speech, she mentioned that the Pakistani prime minister “will change the law on honor killings after watching this film.”
The talk and screening will be held at the Asian Development Bank headquarters from 2 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. If you want to join, you must register here. Also, don’t forget to wear orange to show that you stand with the 37 percent of women in Asia and the Pacific who experience gender-based violence. For more information, also check out their Facebook events page.
Photo courtesy of TED
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