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VOL. 27, NO. 27, March 14, 2008 (Chaitra 01 2064 B.S.)
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Women’s Hardships
Directed by Shosh Shalm, the Israeli documentary ‘Be Fruitful and Multiply’ reveals how difficult the life is in Israeli society
By A CORRESPONDENT
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Shalm:Reality bites |
At a time when Nepalese women celebrated International Women Day urging the needs to protect the rights of women who have suffered from all kinds of discrimination, an Israeli documentary film directed by Shosh Shalm depicted the life of Israeli women who gave birth to too many children.
The documentary begins with a story of a woman from Jerusalem who has 16 children. Thanks to the wrong notion that a woman has to serve the god via the womb, the women in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community are compelled to have many babies.
Besides taking care of children, these women have to look after the household chores. Their most valuable part of time is spent on growing children and taking their care hoping to serve the god via womb.
In the 52-minutes long documentary, the director asks the question how does it feel to have been pregnant or breastfeeding for 25 out of 26 years of married life? And the director also tries to give answer through the characters depicted in the documentary.
Based on the suffering of real actors and their own experiences of child bearing and taking care of household, the director Shalm, a well known documentary director of Israel, has shown the real picture of the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women.
“My documentary is based on extensive research on the conditions of Jewish women having many children. This is the experience of these women who agreed to share their difficulties with their countrymen as well as rest of the world,” said director Shalm who came to Nepal at the Invitation of Embassy of Israel.
Nepali women- who live in rural parts of the country – too have been facing similar kinds of situation. In orthodox Muslim and Hindu society, women are compelled to have many children. In many cases, Nepalese women have to give birth to many children hoping to have a boy.
Organized by Embassy of Israel to mark the International Women’s Day, the documentary- which was shown as a premier show in Asia, narrates the story of women of much advanced and literate world.
Many questions regarding the life and rights of women’s reproductive rights are posed openly and directly for the first time in this film and they expose the consequences of the commandment Be fruitful and multiply – the mother of all Mitzvot- upon the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman.
Based on the life of Mitzvot, the story narrates the most difficult parts of the life of women and her social responsibility and child bearing. Director Mrs. Shalm is able to convey the message how the act of giving birth to many children spoils the life of woman as well as the economic and other difficulties they have to face as consequences.
The center of Mitzvot life is pregnancy, child birth and constant nursing. She does not have the freedom to determine the course of her life but what she serves is God via womb.
“This film –which is dedicated to protect women’s reproductive rights- also helps to understand the state of women of Israel,” said Ambassador of Israel Dan Stav. “This was the first premier show in Asia.”
The director interviews children, their work and their life in growing up in such big families.
“I am very happy to say that I am able to project the life and real situation of those women who found no one to tell their own stories regarding the myth of serving gods through her womb,” said director Shalm.
