Description: Petals
in the Dust: The Endangered Indian Girls is a filmmaker's
personal journey to understand and shed light on the origins and the
enormity of the war against Indian women. The film examines the
condition of an endangered class of people living in one of the most
populous, culturally and economic vibrant countries: modern India.
They come from all walks of life and share only one common trait:
they are female. A patriarchal mindset, a preference for sons and a
deep-seated intolerance has led to the murder of fifty million girls
and women in India in the last century. They continue to lose their
lives in this century to infanticide, sex-selective abortions,
starvation and medical neglect, dowry deaths and brutal gang rapes.
The declining female population is also leading to increased crimes
against women including trafficking and bride buying. By 2020 there
will be twenty percent more men than women in India. The film
explores the cultural origins of this vast genocidal crime and
includes the voices of activists and gender experts as well survivors
of these gender crimes who have struggled to build meaningful lives.
By bringing this issue out into the open, the filmmakers hope to
light the spark of resistance to this culture of gender violence and
extermination, mobilize the Indian and International communities into
getting involved in ending this "gendercide" and to
encourage a new generation of Indian citizens to value, and respect
their daughters, wives and the women in the community.
Biography: Nyna
Pais Caputi has worked on several short award-winning films
including DCBA Desi Confused by America, Able and Gentle Lovers. She is a Bay Area Video Coalition 2013
media-maker fellow. She also founded the Global Walk for India’s
Missing Girls in 2010, an international awareness campaign on the
violence and genocide of Indian women that has taken place in over
twenty-five cities and five countries.
