Honor Diaries

Honor Diaries
Directed by Micah Smith
Produced by
  • Paula Kweskin
  • Heidi Basch-Harod
  • Alex Traiman
Written by
  • Paula Kweskin
  • Alex Traiman
Music by Sharon Farber
Cinematography Micah Smith
Edited by Micah Smith
Distributed by Brainstorm Media
Release dates
  • 2013
Running time
60 min.
Country United States
Language English

Honor Diaries is a 2013 documentary film by producer Paula Kweskin. Honor Diaries explores violence against women in honor-based societies, with particular focus on female genital mutilation (FGM), honor violence and honor killings, early and forced marriage, and lack of access to education.[1] The film profiles nine women’s rights activists with origins in the Muslim (and non-Muslim) world, and follows their efforts to effect change, both within their communities and beyond. Honor Diaries premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 2013 and won the Interfaith Award for Best Documentary[2] at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November 2013. It was featured from December 2013 through April 2014[3] on DirecTV’s Audience Network as part of the Something to Talk About film series.

Content

Synopsis

Honor Diaries traces the work of nine women’s rights advocates who came together to engage in a discourse about gender inequality and honor-based violence. Combining in-depth interviews and round-table discussions with archival footage, the film examines human rights violations in honor-based societies, and the growing trend of honor crimes in Western societies.

Structure

Honor Diaries is divided into five main sections. The film begins with a broad analysis of women’s rights in Muslim-majority countries, drawing attention to issues such as lack of access to education and restrictions on movement. From there, the film expands on three major crimes targeting women: forced marriage, honor killings and female genital mutilation (FGM). In the final chapter, the documentary explores the rising trend of honor-based violence in Western societies, and efforts to silence voices of opposition by intimidation.

Featured interviewees

The film features in-depth interviews and salon discussions with nine women’s rights activists who represent diverse communities throughout the Muslim and non-Muslim world. The women reside in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Sudan. In the documentary, the featured women share their stories from their personal lives, professional work and their struggle to fight for broad-scale change.

Production

Film production began in April 2012, prompted by producer Paula Kweskin’s participation in the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) conference in Turkey. There, Kweskin was introduced to numerous women’s rights activists, including Fahima Hashim, Director of the Salmmah Women’s Resource Center in Sudan and one of the featured women in Honor Diaries.

The nine women who are profiled in the film met for the first time at a gathering in June 2012 in New York. The film’s producers based the concept of the meeting on the salons of the French Enlightenment, in which women hosted assemblies of intellectuals to discuss progressive issues of the day. Subsequently, producers filmed women separately, in their home towns.

After more than a year in production, the film was completed in May 2013.

Filmmakers


Coalition partners

The film website claims the following organizations have supported the promotion and distribution of Honor Diaries:[15]

Release and reception

Honor Diaries premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 2013. One month later, the film screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival, where it won the Interfaith Award for Best Documentary. It featured throughout December 2013 on DirecTV’s Something to Talk About film series on the Audience network (Channel 239).

The international launch of Honor Diaries is scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8, 2014.

Media reception

Although the film has yet to be officially released, it has been cited by the following media sources.

Some critics contend that the producers could have probed deeper on issues facing women in Muslim societies.[18]

Awards

Honor Diaries won the Interfaith Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival in 2013.[13] The film was nominated for a 2015 Islamophobia book/film/tv series award.[19]

Criticism

Writing in Islamophobia Today, Richard Silverstein stated that the film is anti-Muslim, racist and "propaganda masquerading as a feminist, humanist film".[20] He also stated that while the University of Michigan-Dearborn initially agreed to screen the film, it later postponed the screening, after the film was criticized by the university's faculty and staff, CAIR and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).[20]

Writing in Patheos, author Samya notes that there is a lack of balance "when certain concepts are discussed", and that "they tend to lack balance in their presentation...the film talks about female genital mutilation, a practice that is neither advocated in Islam nor appears in Quran, but has been adopted by some Muslim societies, as mentioned in the film by Qanta Ahmed...the film presents a Muslim preacher, Sheikh Yussuf Al Badri, from Al Azhar Islamic University in Cairo, saying: “circumcision is the reason why Muslim women are virtuous, unlike Western women who run after their sexual appetite in any place with any man.” When considering this example, I just wonder why filmmakers have chosen to play up the views of this scholar rather than the anti-circumcision views advocated by the film...For me, it gives the impression that “Islam” supports such actions, rather than acknowledging the many Muslim communities and individuals that don’t practice it or that advocate against it."[18]

References

  1. Curtis, Michael (November 30, 2013). "No More Honor-Killings of Women in the Middle East". American Thinker.
  2. "2013 SLIFF Film Awards". St. Louis International Film Festival.
  3. "Honor Diaries". DIRECTV.
  4. Ahmed, Dr. Qanta (2008). In the Land of Invisible Women. Sourcebooks Inc. ISBN 1402210876.
  5. "EMET's Fifth annual dinner Rays of Light in the Darkness". Endowment for Middle East Truth.
  6. "Advisory Committee".
  7. "Raheel Raza". Gatestone Institute.
  8. "Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007". The National Archives.
  9. "Jasvinder Sanghera". Women of the Year. July 30, 2012.
  10. "Pride of Britain Award Winners 2009". The Pride of Britain Awards. 2009.
  11. "Queen's birthday honours list 2013: GCB, DBE and CBE". The Guardian. 15 June 2013.
  12. "Paula Kweskin". SheSource. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "2013 SLIFF Film Awards". Cinema St. Louis. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  14. "Remi Winners - 2011". WorldFest - Houston.
  15. "Partner Organizations". Honor Diaries. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  16. "Honor Diaries". Los Angeles Times. October 7, 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  17. Curtis, Michael (1 December 2013). "No honour in the killing of women". The Commentator. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  18. 18.0 18.1 Samya (January 6, 2014). "Honor Diaries: A Real Conversation on Women’s Rights or a Scratch on the Surface?". Patheos. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  19. http://www.ihrc.org.uk/events/11229-islamophobia-awards-2015-vote-now
  20. 20.0 20.1 FoxNews Gins Up ‘Honor Diaries’ Controversy

External links