WOMEN MAKING DOCUMENTARIES!
What happens when women are given the chance to use film to tell their stories? Well we end up seeing a side of life that isn't often talked about, but is lived daily by every woman and girl on this planet. I'm often struck in my own activism work, how every women everywhere is facing the same exact issues regardless of where she lives in the world, and how all of us are ultimately fighting to live in a world that not only respects us, but is more importantly safe for us.
I came across this list of documentaries about women, and while I had either heard of all of them or had even featured them on this blog before, there was this one documentary that I hadn't heard of. It's a film called Vessel, which is a film about a woman who offers abortion services to women in countries where it is illegal, through running a ship in international waters. It's interesting for me to feature a film about this on my page, when so much of what I've been doing lately has been involving activism work around specifically mothers and children and their inherent right to each other. It seems that then people think I would be anti-abortion, which isn't the case. One of the main reasons adoption rates have dropped so much in recent years has been because of women's rights to access abortion. Meaning almost every woman would rather go through an abortion then have to give her child away to strangers. This has coincided with a rise in surrogacy, due to the fact that there is this market for children, and the belief that everyone is entitled not just to a child, but to a woman's body.
I would like to see us recognize that women inherently are the only people who have rights to our bodies, and that we can do this while supporting both a woman's right to choose, AND supporting the inherent right of a mother to her child, and the child to the mother. Meaning that we should be doing more on a worldwide basis to end everything that results in a woman being in a position where she needs to get an abortion for instance, rape, domestic violence, poverty, rampant misogyny, lack of healthcare leading to unhealthy/dangerous pregnancies, lack of birth control, etc. while also addressing all the reasons that women need to give their babies up for adoption like rape, domestic violence, poverty, misogyny, racism, lack of societal support, lack of maternity leave, etc. It's amazing how almost all these issues overlap.
Overall, we need to do more to support women. I appreciate what this Dr. is doing and how she is doing everything in her power to help these women. Unfortunately, there will always be cases where an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother, or to prevent a child who doesn't even really have a chance of survival due to health reasons from suffering anymore.
According to WHO:
- 21.6 million women experience an unsafe abortion worldwide each year; 18.5 million of these occur in developing countries.
- 47,000 women die from complications of unsafe abortion each year.
- Deaths due to unsafe abortion remain close to 13% of all maternal deaths.
"Showcasing not just victories, but also chronicling unsuccessful missions, "Vessel" is a film not just about abortion, but also about activism. It raises provocative questions about the power of laws, how information is policed in the world, and the fight for bodily autonomy in an increasingly globalized world."
http://www.upworthy.com/5-documentaries-about-women-that-will-truly-change-the-way-you-see-the-world
The next documentary is one from Global Girl Media and is about sexual/street harassment in Morocco. I believe it was one or two of the women featured in the film, who said that, by the time she gets home everyday she is so exhausted from all the harassment that she just cries.
https://youtu.be/4MA1LrH9-Mk
The last documentary is about the lives of women and girls in Bangladesh who are being prostituted in the world's largest brothel. Not only does the documentary do an excellent job of humanizing these women, but I also think the journalist behind it, is a woman to be much admired for her work. I think she will serve as an inspiration for other women going into this field, which further helps all of us as women.
http://us.india.com/lifestyle/tania-rashid-speaks-up-for-the-silenced-the-lives-of-female-sex-workers-in-bangladeshs-daulatdia-brothel-336930/#disqus_thread
I came across this list of documentaries about women, and while I had either heard of all of them or had even featured them on this blog before, there was this one documentary that I hadn't heard of. It's a film called Vessel, which is a film about a woman who offers abortion services to women in countries where it is illegal, through running a ship in international waters. It's interesting for me to feature a film about this on my page, when so much of what I've been doing lately has been involving activism work around specifically mothers and children and their inherent right to each other. It seems that then people think I would be anti-abortion, which isn't the case. One of the main reasons adoption rates have dropped so much in recent years has been because of women's rights to access abortion. Meaning almost every woman would rather go through an abortion then have to give her child away to strangers. This has coincided with a rise in surrogacy, due to the fact that there is this market for children, and the belief that everyone is entitled not just to a child, but to a woman's body.
I would like to see us recognize that women inherently are the only people who have rights to our bodies, and that we can do this while supporting both a woman's right to choose, AND supporting the inherent right of a mother to her child, and the child to the mother. Meaning that we should be doing more on a worldwide basis to end everything that results in a woman being in a position where she needs to get an abortion for instance, rape, domestic violence, poverty, rampant misogyny, lack of healthcare leading to unhealthy/dangerous pregnancies, lack of birth control, etc. while also addressing all the reasons that women need to give their babies up for adoption like rape, domestic violence, poverty, misogyny, racism, lack of societal support, lack of maternity leave, etc. It's amazing how almost all these issues overlap.
Overall, we need to do more to support women. I appreciate what this Dr. is doing and how she is doing everything in her power to help these women. Unfortunately, there will always be cases where an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother, or to prevent a child who doesn't even really have a chance of survival due to health reasons from suffering anymore.
According to WHO:
- 21.6 million women experience an unsafe abortion worldwide each year; 18.5 million of these occur in developing countries.
- 47,000 women die from complications of unsafe abortion each year.
- Deaths due to unsafe abortion remain close to 13% of all maternal deaths.
"Showcasing not just victories, but also chronicling unsuccessful missions, "Vessel" is a film not just about abortion, but also about activism. It raises provocative questions about the power of laws, how information is policed in the world, and the fight for bodily autonomy in an increasingly globalized world."
http://www.upworthy.com/5-documentaries-about-women-that-will-truly-change-the-way-you-see-the-world
The next documentary is one from Global Girl Media and is about sexual/street harassment in Morocco. I believe it was one or two of the women featured in the film, who said that, by the time she gets home everyday she is so exhausted from all the harassment that she just cries.
https://youtu.be/4MA1LrH9-Mk
The last documentary is about the lives of women and girls in Bangladesh who are being prostituted in the world's largest brothel. Not only does the documentary do an excellent job of humanizing these women, but I also think the journalist behind it, is a woman to be much admired for her work. I think she will serve as an inspiration for other women going into this field, which further helps all of us as women.
http://us.india.com/lifestyle/tania-rashid-speaks-up-for-the-silenced-the-lives-of-female-sex-workers-in-bangladeshs-daulatdia-brothel-336930/#disqus_thread
