Documentary Review by Ashley

I had the pleasure of attending the documentary film screening and director’s presentation of a fascinating film “Tied in a Knot: Narratives from Bride Seeking Regions of India”. It examines the newly emergent phenomenon of bride buying and commoditization of the female body in India, and the attendant gender based violence that the sourced, bought, or trafficked brides undergo in their marital homes, directed by Reena Kukreja and her team.

The documentary was the fruit of Reena Kukreja’s 2 year journey travelling to 226 villages and interviewing over 56 brides, their respective families, and people living in the surrounding villages. Some of the main issues highlighted in this film are patriarchal influences, as well as the socio-economic impacts that neoliberalism and imperialism have on women and their communities in poor rural areas in India. The film is not only a geographic journey, but one of self-discovery and rich political analysis that attempts to go beyond the ‘othering’ of the Northern India’s rural women and focusing on the greater socio-economic forces that contribute to a tendency to look at India through a narrow lens. The film provides a holistic view of the situation in India from the subtle changes in perspectives of the caste system that force men from one state to find brides in a different geographical location regardless of their caste, to the greater imperialist forces like ‘tied aid’ and rapid industrialization that have contributed to severe poverty in rural areas.

What was most compelling were the diverse stories that came from this project.  The film did not hold a one-sided view that all Indian women are ‘coerced’ into these marriages. While anti-Trafficking units have been created, Reena insists that trafficking only happens in a small percentage of cases and that most people choose to be married off into families outside of their homes because of other reasons. She asserts the importance of not placing all women in the ‘trafficked’ category and in ‘need of saving’. She speaks to class and caste issues, along with the larger legislative policies that dictate ‘equal’ treatment of people, but rarely is put into practice.  In fact, she further researched the impact of lax policies that lead to an increase in gender-based violence (ie, disappearances, kidnapping, rape and assault).

In the discussion, Reena also raised the importance of examining whose stories and issues are brought to justice and profiled in the media, such as the Delhi rape case of a middle-class woman which received a great deal of media attention and a large outcry from the ‘community’ in contrast to those whose stories and lives are not treated with that same importance. For example, Dalit women, who are among the lower classes, face gender-based violence everyday but their stories do not garner the attention.

The film highlights the “family planning” campaign that came out of Donor Aid (with developments in reproductive technologies with their structural adjustment policies and aid from the UN) to ‘control’ the population by introducing ultrasound machines in communities.  Coupled with male preference and female feticide, this has led to a ‘female shortage’ in many states, alongside poverty that affect communities in ways that lead men to look out of state for brides. There are a small group of people that are indeed trafficking women and girls within the regions that she explored. Reena critically looks at the the real intentions and agenda the anti-trafficking units funded by the Western countries, and their approach to ‘save the brown women from their ‘savage’ native husbands’ to ‘liberate the women’.

Interestingly enough, caste rules are being broken because of migratory bride selection because men are desperately looking for brides to fulfil their need for free labour – in the fields and bearing children (sons) that will eventually inherit their land. Women make up 80% of UNPAID, productive labour, from agricultural, daily work, childcare and household chores. The film captures all sides of the story and is a powerful testament to the resiliency of women who will do almost anything to uphold the honour of their family.

“Tied in a Knot” are stories of women that travel long distances, away from their family, language, traditions and community. It speaks to their loneliness and isolation, racism, abuse and exploitation. It looks at intersections of globalization, greed, industrialization and market economies, poverty, and its connection to how all of these things affect people and exacerbate the struggles of daily life.

The screening was hosted by the Education Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly (GTWA) and Centre for Feminist Research (CFR) at York University.  The film is available on the Directors website: http://www.tamarindtreefilms.com/film-store.php

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