Woman power
ANFAN Manch, a documentary on literacy and consciousness-raising efforts in Bihar, was telecast by Doordarshan on the occasion of the Education For All summit held in the Capital in December. The film was made by Jan Madhyam for the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, which conceived of and executed the literacy programme.
It begins with the Samiti's efforts to organise women around the issue of literacy in Madhubani district in Bihar and culminates in the Samata jathas (equality groups) held in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, in April last year. Doordarshan's sense of timing being what it is, it telecast two films on the Samata event, which took place from March to April last year, in December. A bit late, to put it mildly.
Angan Manch focussed on the convergence of the literacy and the women's movements: both of which aim at empowerment. In Madhubani, Bihar's biggest and most backward district, the organisers got women to come together and discuss their problems. The women started taking stock of themselves, their status at home and finally, the avenues for self-development once the literacy drive had arrived in their neighbourhood.
The film emphasises the necessity to convert the awareness that literacy brings into organisational strength, so that women can consolidate their initial empowerment into a lasting change in their status. The message is clear, but the medium is not used skillfully. A hotchpotch of relevant footage strung together with a commentary does not a good film make.
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