Earlier this month, SOC Films – helmed by two-time Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy – released the first animated short (Cheena Hua Bachpan) under its new series, Shattering The Silence. It is a 4-part animated series in Urdu that aims to engage viewers, particularly children, and create awareness by shedding light on real life stories of child abuse.
Recently, the second part of the series, titled Iqbal Ka Bachpan, came out which explores the story of Reebok Human Rights Award recipient Iqbal Masih, a young Pakistani boy who was forced to work as a carpet weaver in the nineties. Iqbal grew up stunted and hopeless, working through arduous conditions from the age of four. Fortunately, when bonded labour was declared illegal by the Supreme Court, Iqbal was able to pursue his dream of attending school.
Iqbal Ka Bachpan highlights the importance of creating awareness among children and their families about the laws which safeguard them and improve their quality of life and their basic human rights as residents of Pakistan.
Two out of four parts of Shattering The Silence are available on YouTube with each part about 2 to 3 minutes long. While the second one explores the real life story of Iqbal Masih, the first part was about children working as domestic l
