The Plight of India’s Daughters
Leslee Udwin - Photo By Sandeep Khandelwal
She has, not only an incredible vision to change the world, but also the courage and strength to act on it. LCAHouston International Society News Editor Ruchi Mukherjee sat down with British filmmaker, activist, and director of the documentary ‘India’s Daughter’, Leslee Udwin.
On March 31st, 2019, Daya hosted its annual gala fundraiser evening to celebrate the strength of South Asian survivors of domestic and sexual violence. To promote this mission of collectively supporting survivors to end the cycle of violence in the community, the organization hosted a very powerful keynote speaker, renowned Human Rights Activist and Filmmaker Leslee Udwin of ‘India’s Daughter.’ She left the audience simultaneously agitated and inspired to end this vicious cycle of abuse and change the mindset of society.
“What amazed me while working on the documentary was that there was absolutely no regret for committing such a brutal rape,” says Udwin.
India’s Daughter is a documentary film as part of the BBC’s ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the infamous and globally condemned 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh. “I interviewed each of those seven accused of the brutal rape and I thought I would be angry at them or label them as monsters, but sadly I couldn’t. Society brainwashed them into thinking that they are boys and so nothing they could do is wrong. So I walked out believing that they are illiterate and their actions were in part a result of that. But what shocked me was that the literate advisors surround them were even worse. Their lawyer actually said that the victim deserved it. She is a woman and she shouldn’t have been out at night,” shares Leslee.
Leslee Udwin and Sheila Rao – Photo By Sandeep Khandelwal
Leslee was voted by the New York Times as the 2nd most Impactful Woman of 2015 (second only to Hillary Clinton), and has been awarded the prestigious Swedish Anna Lindh Human Rights Prize, previously won by Madeleine Albright. She has also been named Safe’s Global Hero of 2015, Global Thinker by Foreign Policy, and has won the Best Producer Award for her ground-breaking documentary “India’s Daughter”.
As her first documentary feature, and as her directorial debut, it has not only been critically acclaimed around the globe, but has provoked a global discussion about gender equality and violation of the rights of women and girls. The film has gone on to spark a global movement to end violence against women and girls.
“While making the documentary, the perspective and insights yielded by the 2½ year-long journey, led me to create which calls for a systemic change in education to end the discriminatory mind set and cycle of violence across our country,” explains Udwin.
Daya is a non profit organization that serves South Asian women, children, and men in the Houston area who have been the victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. More than 600 guests gathered at the Sugar Land Marriott raising over $330,000. “The goal is to one day live in a society where we no longer need organizations like these,” Leslee beams with hope.
