Women's Film Screening: In Her Words: The Journey of Indian Women

Director: Annie Zaidi
Country: India
2015, Short Documentary, 44 minutes
Language: English and Hindi with English subtitles
Age Suitability: Children under the age of 12 to be accompanied by a guardian.
After the screening, there will be a virtual Q&A session with Annie Zaidi (20 minutes).

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Without understanding how women have lived in the past, how can we formulate policies for them in contemporary society?

Through conversations with translators, historians and writers, this documentary traces the lives and struggles of Indian women as reflected in their literature, starting from the first anthology of women's writing written by Buddhist nuns around the 6th CE, folk songs, Bhakti (devotional) verses, and the reformers and activists of the 19th century. The experiences of women during the Partition, the struggles of rural and tribal women, and the perspectives of contemporary writers enrich this temporal literary exploration, illuminating the historical backdrop and current socio-cultural landscape of modern India that women navigate today.

Content Warning: The film may contain content that could cause discomfort for some viewers.

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Video Teaser

Directed by renowned Indian writer Annie Zaidi, In Her Words: The Journey of Indian Women follows the historical trajectory of how Indian women have gradually carved out a space for themselves in literary works from ancient times to the present, voicing their rebellion against a patriarchal society. 

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Additional & Accessibility Info

• Age Suitability: Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a guardian.
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Language: The film will be in English and Hindi with English subtitles.
• Content Warning: The film may contain content that could cause discomfort for some viewers.

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Artist Bio

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Annie Zaidi

Annie Zaidi is a multi-genre writer and current doctoral scholar in Creative Writing at Durham University. She was awarded the Nine Dots Prize in 2019 for innovative thinking, and the Tata Literature Live Award for Book of the Year 2020 for Prelude to a Riot, and The Hindu Playwright Award in 2018 for her play, Untitled-1.