Son Rise - Women in Dark Times

Vibha Bakshi’s National award-winning Son Rise shows that documentaries can be instruments of social transformation

- Suhani Singh

In her first Indian documentary, Daughters of Mother India, Vibha Bakshi looked at the public agitation that followed Nirbhaya’s gang-rape and the change in laws it effected. In her latest, Son Rise, the documentary filmmaker has focused on Haryana’s sex ratio, skewed as a result of illegal sex determination tests and subsequent female foeticide. The lack of a female voice in the state’s khaps only confirms Haryana’s deep-rooted patriarchy. Both films have won the National Award for best non-feature films, with Son Rise also winning the Hemanti Sarkar the prize for best editing.