A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

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A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness [2015]

Direction by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Language: Urdu/Punjabi



I was too young to watch this documentary when it was originally released in 2015: the documentary focuses around the subject of honour killings and community pride in lower income groups in rural areas of Pakistan. Not only are those wildly inappropriate topics for a child under the age of 15 to actually watch and listen to, but I think my parents were perhaps trying to shield me. For the longest time, when I heard of Pakistan, I thought of family and excellent food, but this documentary exposed the dark underbelly of a Pakistan that I was not used to seeing: a Pakistan that, whilst being a haven for culture, is a country rife with social challenges that have yet to be resolved. 

I won't judge this documentary by the quality/clarity of the actual video (I did watch it on YouTube so I may be completely wrong), but by the impact that it left, by the messages conveyed through it. This movie is part of the reason why I want a career in film! It was not flashy or over-the-top like many other documentaries now are, but it was just a vessel by which the world could see the atrocities of the actions that certain communities commit. 

Pride is a word that is common in Pakistani society. Pride and reputation rules all, from the affluent neighbourhoods of the big city that I'm from, to the small villages where this documentary is set. I had not previously realised how unbelievably significant pride was in less urbanised areas. The documentary focuses around one family, where the daughter has run off to marry a boy that is from a lower-income group. Her family tries to kill her, and she is just left to suffer the consequences as a victim of two things: patriarchal societal attitudes in the village where she lives, and the repressive nature of the Pakistani judicial system. The most shocking part for me, though, is the justification of abusive and quite frankly unacceptable behaviour by using religion as a shield. As a Muslim, it is awful to think that people have interpreted Islam in such an extreme way, to the point that they could see violent acts of aggression as the price to pay for stains on honour and reputation in the community.

Getting to understand the true Pakistan between all the smoke and mirrors established by older members of my family is something I have always been passionate about, and I firmly believe that this documentary has gotten me much closer to achieving this goal. No documentary has been more deserving of an Academy Award (even though I may be biased as a Pakistani, of course). 

10/10

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