Segment 1: The Disposable Gender. The United Nations estimates that as many as 200 million girls are missing today because of gendercide. This is a horrific tragedy of great magnitude that gets very little press. Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll show is Evan Grae Davis, social justice advocate and director It’s A Girl movie. Evan began his film career by working with non-profits to give a voice to people in need, and has traveled the world for decades to help fundraising efforts by making movies for organizations. When filming his documentary, he started by asking the questions, “What are the cultural mindsets that underlie social injustices? Why are girls considered disposable?” He decided to focus on India and China because gendercide is common within cultures that are heavily patriarchal, and the largest numbers of girls missing were from these two countries.
Segment 2: The Sheer Scope of Violence against Women. Though Evan has been involved in human rights education and activism for many years, was surprised by the sheer scope of violence against women present in the world today. It’s easy to assume, being from the United States, that things are better as far as gender equality. However, in a large part of the world the plight of women is still extremely bad. The primary cause of this is a very strong patriarchal structure. Sons are preferred. Daughters become a part of the husband’s family. Additionally, a daughter takes a dowry, so she is essentially a deficit. In China it’s critical that a son is born in order to carry on the family name and have someone to care for the parents in their old age.
Segment 3: Sharing a Message and a Passion. Evan and his producers provided copies of the finished film to India for free. All the social justice activists in India have access to the film and are encouraged to share it. Unfortunately there is very little opportunity for the film to be viewed in China. The documentary was mainly produced for Western countries, to share a message and a passion.
Segment 4: Economic Ties Trump Human Rights Issues. The unfortunate reality is that our economic ties to India and China trump human rights issues. These issues are largely ignored for the sake of keeping good economic relationships. So what can one person do? Raise awareness. Share the film trailer. Talk to people. Educate them about the issue. There are additional ideas on the It’s A Girl website, such as a link to sign petitions to change the one-child law in China. There is very meaningful work happening on the ground in India and China to save girls, get protections in place, and demand equality. We can donate to those organizations. Spread the news. Raise awareness. To find out more, visit http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/.
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