School of Social Work screens Honor Diaries

The Price School of Public Policy’s Women Leading Policy, Planning and Development along with the School of Social Work Diversity Committee and the Institute for Global Health held a screening of Honor Diaries, a documentary about the need to end honor violence, forced and underage marriage and female genital mutilation, in the Montgomery Ross Fisher building on Tuesday to promote awareness of these issues.

Professor Rafael Angulo of the School of Social Work kicked off the event by speaking about his connection to the film.

“As social workers, one of the things we are taught is to look at issues contextually,” Angulo said. “We constantly come across this issue of culture, and while we are meant to respect it, we are also meant to assess it and examine it from multiple perspectives.”

This critical examination of culture was the goal for the writer and producer of Honor Diaries, Paula Kweskin, who was present at the event.

“This film is about culture and the precepts it comes with,” Kweskin said. “One of my goals in this film is to create a discussion about these human rights violations and to bring these to action.”

The film depicts a salon-style setting with nine different women who have been working on Muslim women’s rights and come together to discuss these issues.

Honor Diaries is divided into sections, each dealing with honor violence, or violence against women in the name of a family’s honor; forced and underage marriage; and female genital mutilation, including the complete or partial removal of a clitoris to subdue female sexuality.

The documentary sheds light on the widespread violence. According to the film, nine out of 10 countries with the worst gender disparity are Muslim majority nations, more than 60 million women who are now 20 to 24 years old were married when they were minors, and at least 125 million women and girls have been mutilated in Africa and the Middle East since 1989.

One activist distinguished female from male genital mutilation.

“It cannot be compared to male circumcision,” said Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an activist, writer and politician. “It is very different.”

The women in the film discussed what makes it unique.

“It definitely is linked to honor because the gain is control of female sexuality,” an activist said.

Raheel Raza, president of the Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, discussed how women are a part of the problem.

“Why do we think patriarchy is never questioned? Because women are the main maintainers,” Raza said.

One such example in the movie was a midwife’s perception of the societal benefits associated with female genital mutilation. She said that girls who undergo such procedures are “purified,” and grow taller and marry better husbands, views  shared by those who advocate female genital mutilation.

The film also focused on the lifelong domination of Muslim women. Raza explained that throughout their lives, women are controlled by their fathers, then by their brothers, then by their husbands and sons.

At the conclusion of the film, Kweskin, Raza and Jasvinder Sanghera, founder and chief executive of Karma Nirvana, a U.K.-based nationwide helpline supporting victims of forced marriages and honor violence, joined Angulo for a panel discussion.

Sanghera spoke about her experience working on the documentary.

“I ran away from home when I was 16 years old, and the journey personally has been lonely,” Sanghera said. “But the salon setting reduced my isolation as an individual and a campaigner. It was extremely empowering.”

Students said they felt impacted by the film’s message.

“It has been really inspiring to hear how these women came together,” said Grace Hwang, a graduate student studying social work. “To come together to strengthen their own cause and further their movement has been empowering to see.”

Kweskin emphasized the potential influence of students in helping to end human rights violations.

“It is time for the United States to get on board and we definitely need universities to help that,” Kweskin said. “If USC would be interested in partnering us, we would be beyond thrilled to start that and push for this to get the recognition it deserves.”