Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy speaks out against ‘honour’ killings at Women of the World summit

“A Girl in the River” brought to the world the story of Saba—the woman who had dared to love and marry a man of her choice in a society where absurd notions of honour stop women from exercising this basic right.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s award-winning documentary narrates Saba’s ordeal at the hands of her father and uncle, who shot and dumped her body in a river after her marriage. That she survived was almost miraculous, and more praiseworthy was her resolve to campaign against “honour” killing.

Although her father and uncle were arrested and jailed for their crimes, Saba was eventually forced to forgive them.

“One of the most important ways to tackle an issue is to put a voice and a face on it,” Chinoy said at the eighth Women of the World summit. “Winning an Academy Award really helps,” she added. “The prime minister of the country watched the film and said ‘there is no honour in honour killing.’”

The filmmaker represented Pakistan at the summit for the fourth time, which was held at David H. Koch Theatre at Lincoln Centre in New York City.

The two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker spoke at a session titled, ‘Pakistan’s Honour’ held on April 6.

 Sharmeen has two Academy Awards to her name – one for her documentary ‘Saving Face’ (2012) and another for the biographical ‘A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness’ (2016). She has also won the Emmy Awards multiple times, along with many other accolades.