Pakistan is going through tremendous changes in the gender sphere. Through social media and other digital platforms, stories of the struggles, triumphs and the overall ‘gender experience’ of thousands of women and young girls has started to come to the forefront. In order for women to be heard, there needs to be a re-alignment in the stories we tell and hear, ensuring that the stories of women and young girls are not left out or misrepresented, for instance, as victims.
With a similar objective in mind, The Little Art launched ‘Equally Loud’ project whereby young people in vulnerable, low-income communities are able to express and share their experiences through creative mediums, transforming the narrative of Pakistani women and girls from a purely rights-based discussion to a more personal and impactful dialogue.
The team is working to equip young girls with a useful skill that not only enables them express themselves to the public in a creative and profound manner, but also establish a platform where their stories, as well as those of millions of women and girls, are shared at a wider scale, inspiring these women to find the courage and will to become the change. Specifically, the overall objective of the project is to strengthen voices of marginalized groups of women, girls, and boys, and support dialogue to influence behavior, perception, and policy on gender equality by using film and digital story-telling.
The 5-day filmmaking workshops are designed to explore gender experiences of children as well as equip them with basic filmmaking skills. The workshops are being conducted in 10 schools in Lahore and Faisalabad. 4 Trust School campuses, 2 Garrison schools and Dreamland Public School in Shahdrah, Lahore and Umul Madaris Model School, Dar-e-Arqam, and St. Catherine’s Girls in Faisalabad were a part of the workshops. A total number of 30 children, boys and girls, from each school were a part of the workshops. Children are divided into groups of four, and each group produces a short film inspired by stories shared during the workshop.
The workshops are conducted by filmmakers and trainers Ammar Aziz, Fazal Ahmad, Abdul Basit and trainers and gender specialist Nida Mushtaq and Sehyr Mirza.
Clic here to read more about the EquallyLoud Launch Event in Lahore
