Rukhshanda Naz, a human rights attorney and long-time gender rights leader who is fighting in Pakistan’s courts to extricate girls like Zarmina from early and forced marriages....
gender justic
Every day, in every country in the world, women are confronted by discrimination and inequality. They face violence, abuse and unequal treatment at home, at work and in their wider communities – and are denied opportunities to learn, to earn and to lead.
To commemorate International Women’s Day, two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy recently launched “Fundamental. Gender Justice. No Exceptions” – a five-episode international docuseries shot and produced by Safyah Zafar Usmani and Shahrukh Waheed of SOC Films and directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, in Brazil, Georgia, Kenya, USA and Pakistan. This is the first time an all-Pakistan crew has created a global series.
With this, SOC Films aims to present and empower the next generation of non-fiction filmmakers in Pakistan. This is also the first global series to be officially presented and released by YouTube Originals and Refinery29.
Fundamental follows dynamic activists from five countries who are disrupting the status quo and radically altering the course of history for women and girls – and all historically marginalised people and communities globally. “Fundamental takes us into the lives of gender justice activists around the world who are working to create change at the grassroots level. The activists you will meet in the series are on the front lines of human rights issues, risking everything, yet they are rarely made visible. Our films provide a better understanding of their struggles and show us an intimate portrait of what it means to be a frontline advocate in today’s volatile world. Within movements there is a great community, and there is solidarity in knowing there are others alongside you – your neighbours in your city as well as those across the globe – who are also fighting for justice. From Brazil and the United States to Kenya, Pakistan and Georgia, these inspiring activists refuse to accept the status quo, agitating and organising to create safe spaces and a safer world for other women,” says Sharmeen.
At a time of unprecedented political uprisings around the globe, Fundamental invites global audiences to engage directly with grass root movements and community leaders who are standing up for gender justice and fundamental human rights. Each of the five episodes profile a distinct set of remarkable leaders mobilising to write new futures for themselves, their societies, and the world - working on issues from ending child marriage in Pakistan, to pursuing LGBTQI liberation in Georgia, and racial justice in the United States.
The first episode was from Pakistan, ‘Rights Not Roses’ focusing on ending child, early, and forced marriages in the country and how community leaders are addressing the root causes of the issue. In this episode, the audiences get to hear directly from Zarmina, her family, and a network of community activists fighting to end the scourge of early and forced marriage in Pakistan, where 21 per cent of girls are married before the age of 18. These include Rukhshanda Naz, a human rights attorney and long-time gender rights leader who is fighting in Pakistan’s courts to extricate girls like Zarmina from early and forced marriages, and whose passionate advocate for ending child marriage is formed by her family’s own experiences with the issue.
All the episodes are available to watch on YouTube Originals.
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