A documentary commemorating 50 years of charitable NGO Guild for Service and the contribution of its founder and social worker V. Mohini Giri in uplifting marginalised women and children was showcased at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) here on Wednesday.
Directed by veteran filmmaker Meera Dewan, the film ‘Still We Rise: The Passion and Compassion of Mohini Giri’ captured the gist of the Padma Bhushan awardee’s six-decade-long career.
Describing the film as a tribute to an icon of India’s women’s movement, Ms. Dewan said Ms. Giri’s biggest contribution is that she created safe spaces for destitute and underprivileged women.
At the showcase, Ms. Giri said that love was the most important ingredient for peace. She added that the National Commission for Women (NCW) should play a proactive role in giving a voice to women’s issues.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Giri also demanded immediate implementation of the Justice J.S. Verma Commission report on crime against women and children, and urged the NCW to work on a law so that single girls don’t have to knock on the doors of courts for medical termination of unwanted pregnancy in advanced stages.
Starting with Ms. Giri’s work with the Association of War Widows, the film documented the initiatives by Guild of Service for widows of Kargil war martyrs and the wives and children of those who went missing during the Kashmir insurgency.
Highlighting the Guild’s work with widows and abandoned women in Vrindavan, Ms. Dewan said, “This film attempts to reflect [Ms. Giri’s] positive interpretation and transformation of stereotypical terminologies into action. The word ‘widow’ can be found in every dictionary other than one: Mohini Giri’s personalised version. Her wide vision encompasses the rich contribution of every faith to the cause of universal peace. For her, Ram and Rahim are the same.”
“She lost her father early. It was her mother, a classical music artist on All India Radio, who raised the children. As she has seen her mother’s struggle, she doesn’t like the word ‘widow’ which, in a way, connotes untouchability in our society,” she elaborated.
The film also showed a gentle side of Ms. Giri, as she advised newly-weds from underprivileged sections how to lead a healthy married life at a mass marriage ceremony organised by the Guild.
Ms. Dewan also underlined the creative and feisty streak of Ms. Giri, a former NCW chairperson, which helped her create a dedicated team of social workers. “If she takes a task, she ensures to see it all the way through.”
Narrating an anecdote, Ms. Dewan said, “While common logic says you post a local person to carry out development work, she insisted on sending a young girl from Kerala to work in Rahat Ghar in Kashmir. And [activist] Jaya Iyer lived up to the trust she reposed in her.”
Before the showcase, activist Sayeeda Hamid paid a moving tribute to her mentor and long-term associate by reciting verse from Urdu poets Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Altaf Hussain Hali.
