Welcome to another edition of Feminist Friday – our weekly column where we share 3 of our fave feminist videos that are centered around female empowerment, feminism, intersectionality or all 3 combined. This week we’re tipping our hats to the slew of women throughout history and in present day who are MAKING history, and bettering the world for women around them.
First up is the trailer to the highly-anticipated feature film ‘Harriet’, showcasing the extraordinary life and actions of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, famous for leading slaves to freedom through an underground railroad system. The film is out now across the United States and it seems fitting to go and see it now, given we are seeing a record number of especially black women rise to power and take up political leadership, and possibly even more next year during the 2020 election.
Starring British actress Cynthia Erivo, this is one film not to miss this holiday season. Take the family, take your friends, colleagues, classmates, and social groups. Watch the trailer for ‘Harriet’ below:
The next video is a new web series from Katie Couric’s production company, which you can view via People TV. It’s called #SeeHer Story and it profiles the lives of inspiring women from a variety of generations who are breaking barriers and paving new pathways for themselves and other women.
The episode below is about ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza, a sports broadcaster and former softball player who is proving that women belong on the field with men. At Stanford University, Mendoza was a four-time First Team All-American outfielder for the Stanford Cardinal from 1999 to 2002, as well as a member of the United States women’s national softball team from 2004 to 2010. She won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
According to People.com, “The goal of #SeeHer Story is to recognize various female trailblazers ranging from the past 100 years to today and celebrate how they’ve helped to shape history and culture. As this year marks the centennial anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave [white] women the right to vote, the series hopes to commemorate such an important time for women in history.” Watch the episode with Jessica below:
The final video this week is a trailer to an animated film by two-time Academy Award-winner and three-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, whose films have tackled serious issues such as “honor killings” and acid attacks, both of which happen quite frequently in Pakistan. She is known for her work in films which seek to give voice to marginalized and disenfranchised communities. The Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker is now tackling the issue of child marriage, with her latest project ‘Sitara’.
“‘Sitara’ takes the audience on a journey through the old city of Lahore in the 1970s, where a fourteen year old girl called Pari dreams of becoming a pilot. Pari’s story is told through the perspective of her six year old sister, who like the audience, is unaware of the traditions and barriers that lay in the paths of women from this family. Pari’s mother, herself a child bride, has learned to conform and play her role within the home — strong but somewhat broken. When her husband brings home a wedding shoe for Pari, tensions begin to rise between the parents. Eventually, Pari’s father is forced to face the reality of his choice to marry off Pari, when the rest of his family walks away from him after the wedding. With the ending of the film left open to interpretation, audiences are ultimately asked to question why in 2019, the same story is still playing out in societies all across the world, who are still struggling to fully realize that girls must be allowed to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential,” says the description on the website.
Though ‘Sitara’ specifically tells a story of child marriage, it is intended to evoke a broader conversation with young girls around the world as they are encouraged to pursue their dreams and speak out against the obstacles they face. You can head to the website to learn about how to view the film or host a screening, and watch the trailer below to see more about ‘Sitara’.
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