Son Rise: A few good men wage war against patriarchy in Haryana

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 27

The National Crime Record Bureau revealed in 2016 that the highest number of gang rapes was reported in Haryana. The state, which is already infamous for its skewed sex ratio, has seen no let-up in the cases of gender-based violence. Yet, in Vibha Bakshi’s Son Rise, the state finds its heroes in a handful of men, who are trying to break the shackles of patriarchy and standing up for women rights.

Bakshi, who is a seasoned storyteller, portrays the story of courage and commitment from Haryana in her documentary Son Rise. It won the national award in the best non-feature category and the best editing (non-feature) category at the 66th National Film Awards. The film was screened at GNDU in collaboration with Majha House and The Consulate General of Canada-Chandigarh.

Opening with some shocking facts on female foeticide and the deep-rooted patriarchy endorsed by khap panchayats, the film brings a flicker of hope when men in Haryana badlands become extraordinary heroes and lead the struggle for gender equality. So, there is a village sarpanch in Bibipur, who is a proud father of two daughters and is credited with hosting Haryana’s first-ever women gram panchayat’s meet. He is tirelessly working to raise awareness among young girls and women about their rights. Then there is a humble farmer from Jind, who married a rape survivor and has been fighting to bring her culprits to justice. He even sold his land to pursue the case in the high court. There is, of course, a wrestling coach, who has been training young girls to break the glass ceiling.

“All these stories are truly inspiring and the battles that these men are fighting are not easy and they know they would not have a fairytale ending. But they are still doing it. It is very important to understand that if we have to take this conversation forward, we, as a society, need to work on men, raise our boys right,” said Vibha Bakshi. A two-time National Award Winner, Vibha’s earlier work (documentary) “Daughters of Mother India” was based on the horrific stories of rape survivors. With Son Rise, she attempts to shift the narrative on gender inequality by talking about men and their patriarchy.

“When I started working on the film two years ago, I had many challenges. The head of one of the largest khaps of North India, the Ghatwala khap, had told me that it was no business of a woman to attend the khap meets. When I finished, he was among the many men supporting our endeavour and ordering the screening of Son Rise across 14 villages as part of a campaign against female foeticide. The film has been supported by UN Women (a United Nations initiative) as part of the HeforShe movement and will be screened in 71 countries of priority globally as gender-based violence and crimes are a global issue,” she said.

Mia Yen, Consul General of Canada-Chandigarh, too shared her thoughts on gender-based violence. Canada’s feminist foreign policy is founded on a simple objective: to enable women and girls around the world to have an equal voice and equal rights, to benefit from equal opportunities and to live in equal safety and security. Also, as mothers, it is very important to raise boys, who would become equal partners or husbands and not perpetrators of the gender-specific discrimination.”

Bags award in best non-feature category

Vibha Bakshi, who is a seasoned storyteller, portrays the story of courage and commitment from Haryana in her documentary Son Rise. It won the national award in the best non-feature category and the best editing (non-feature) category at the 66th National Film Awards. The film was screened at GNDU in collaboration with Majha House and The Consulate General of Canada-Chandigarh.