India: A Dangerous Place to Be a Woman

Traveling with a BBC filmmaking team, 28-year-old British-Asian medical student Radha Bedi anchors this disturbing look at violence against women in India. As seen through Bedi's eyes, the film examines the 2012 gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey, while also addressing acid attacks, sexual harassment, and the favoring of male offspring. Noting that Pandey's killing sparked protests across India, Bedi interviews the victim's grieving father and speaks with a defense attorney who tells her, “No respectable girl is ever raped.” In a heartbreaking encounter, Bedi talks with a 14-year-old whose classmate threw acid in her face (such assaults are rarely reported but not unusual). An Indian friend offers advice on protecting against sexual overtures on the street, behavior that is called “Eve teasing” and considered harmless fun. Visiting newly married relatives, Bedi hears about the complete submission expected of females when they wed. Reporting on families' preference for male children, she attends a celebration of a baby boy's arrival, travels to an orphanage for abandoned girls, and talks with a woman whose family pressured her to abort twin daughters when their gender was determined by ultrasound. During production, Bedi notifies the police that she herself was groped by a shop assistant—who is swiftly arrested, but that may be because Bedi is part British. A rare hopeful note informs viewers that while abuses remain common in India, public pressure has led to better training for law enforcers, as well as the establishment of women's courts to more quickly prosecute cases. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)