Sharmeen Obaid · @sharmeenochinoy
28th Jun 2012 from Twitlonger
A lot has been said about Rukhsana's allegations on twitter- I want to clarify a few things- Rukhsana is a victim who needs help & care
After the Oscars Rukhsana was overjoyed: Now 4 months have passed, she has left the care of ASF & has family pressures http://dawn.com/2012/02/28/the-women-behind-the-oscar/
Saving Face is not Titanic, its a documentary film- No doc filmmaker in the world promises its subjects money or land- Its unethical
A donor who saw the film offered 2 buy Rukhsana a house in early May- She went 2 c a few houses but her family pressured her not 2 accept
Zakia, the primary subject of the film has never come forward with such allegations and donors hv reached out 2 her
Dr Jawad travelled to Pakistan in April 2012 to perform surgery on Zakia and rukhsana- Zakia received surgery, Rukhsana refused-
Rukhsana and ASF together filed a civil suit 2 stop the airing of Saving Face in Pakistan- we obliged because women’s safety is paramount
Although we hv legal release rights signed by Rukhsana through ASF themselves we had decided not 2 air the film even b4 legal notice
From Day 1 We had made it clear that if the film wud air in Pakistan, ALL of the money wud go 2 ASF and the women in the film-
Rukhsana now lives with the same husband and in-laws who threw acid and petrol on her- they took away her children-
That is her prerogative. As filmmakers we never ask subjects to make life changing decisions, such as divorce.
As filmmakers we can only connect donors 2 victims- we work on awareness- I hope Rukhsana gets the help she needs & deserves
In my career spanning 11 years, 16 films in 10 countries, this has never happened before- As a society v must question who we hv become
It is sad to have fingers pointed on unfullfilled promises by fellow countrymen without any research
I know that we have done our utmost with integrity to highlight the issue and I hope as Pakistanis rise to the occasion.
And stop always blaming each other for societal injustice instead of trying to correct it.