Women’s Voices Now is launching an empathy to action film campaign featuring “Under The Scarf,” one of the short social impact documentaries created in the Global Girl Media + Women’s Voices Now Summer Training Program during 2018, of which Ms. was a proud sponsor. In response to the tragic events in New Zealand, and the ongoing global violence against marginalized communities, one of the young feminist filmmakers behind the film is sounding off on why we need to change the narrative.
“Under the Scarf” illustrates what being a young Muslim woman in America is like. It tells the story of an immigrant in America seeking identity and inclusivity; it portrays the experience of being an outsider, and of receiving scrutiny based on parts of who we are, like race and ethnicity.
This story resonated with the women who worked on this film because we all come from marginalized groups. Four women of color—Black, Latina and Muslim—created the narrative we wanted to see when we made this documentary. It was in our hands—not white, male directors or producers—and our ultimate goal was for viewers to feel the emotions that Mehrin felt, and heed an urgent call to protect their Muslim brothers and sisters in response. We made “Under the Scarf” because we wanted to remind people to feel compassion. We wanted to emphasize the importance of extending empathy to people who look different or live differently than we might.
Working on “Under the Scarf” last summer was an incredibly emotional experience. It still is. Women of color are underrepresented in the media. Our narratives, if told at all, aren’t told by us. But this film was created by us and for us. Four women of color made this happen.
Seeing Mehrin, a Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh, on a big screen was incredibly empowering. I want to see black and brown people on the big screen and hear their stories. I want more films to show that migration is beautiful, and to assert that anyone seeking asylum deserves refuge.
Muslim, Latinx and Black people are not dangerous. We are resilient, kind, hard-working. We have ambitions and aspirations. And we will continue rising through adversity. We will not let hate stop or divide us.
Stories like ours deserve to be heard. We deserve to be seen.
We are all human and we all deserve to be safe in any space, especially our houses of worship. But in the U.S., white nationalists are claiming more space, and hate crimes are on the rise. The men who commit acts of public violence have, in many cases, left behind manifestos that blame women and minorities for their own challenges, and cite that they feel threatened by progress and growing pushes for equality, these men have never actually been threatened. They are not oppressed.
This world was created for everyone—regardless of race, sex or gender—and the recent attacks on a mosque in New Zealand, driven by hate and rhetoric emerging from our own country’s leadership, must serve as a call to action to all of us to move toward empathy and toward action.
Let’s surrender of our egos. Let’s open our hearts to those who need our help. Let’s learn to cede space to people who need it.
Let’s start a new story.
