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A forum focuses on the unfair treatment of young girls across the world and looks for solutions to their plight

I BY ' ' PREETI JABBAL

Do you know tha t according to the United I ations, 200 million girls across che g lobe are missing? D o you k now that iu countries like India, China and several other parts of the world girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls? Have you heard about the .l.ndian woman who strangled eight daughters as soon as they were born, and lived in the hope of havin g a son? Do you know that even today in villages in India, some peopl e kill d1eir girls at birth by feeding them poisoned mil k or putting a wet cloth on their moud1s so the y stop breathing?

Now did you shield your eyes with horror, did you feel bad fo r so me time or did )'Oll simp ly shrug indifferently as 'i t does not happen in Australia'? Whatever your reaction may have been, you cannot escape the awful fact iliac 'gendercide' is still prev alent across the g lobe and that die three deadliest words in certain parts of the world are, 'Ir's a girl ' The South Asian Community Link Group (SACLG) celebrated lmema tional \~omen's Day recently by zooming in on mis issue ch.rough display and di scussion.. Shadowline Films' diougbt-provoking movie It's a girl was shown ac tl1e event, followed by a panel discussion mode.rated by Dr Manjula

O'Connor from tlie Australasian Centre fo r Human Righ t s and He.alch (ACHRH), w h o is also die cu rrent Se cretary of SACLG. The Women's Day dinner was held at the Spirit Of lnclia Receptions

in Preston

Directed by Evan Grae Davis, die lilm, released in 2012, is a documentary chat captures the personal stories of people, and die systematic and deliberate destruction of girl s in India an d China. The film foc u ses on culnual norms, India's dowry system llnd its patriarchal society, where, despite a ban on u ltrasounds, the practice of determining die gender of the fetus is srill commonly available widi die help o f bribes. The documentar y also looked at China's one child policy, incl uding forced abortions, human traflicking and in creasing race of female suicide in the country.

To knm.v is not enough, but it's definitel y a start in creating awareness of a disturbing decline in the population of girls in both these overpopulated coLmtr ies "Bringing about tl1is awareness was the main intent behind s howing this film", said Molina Asthana from SACLG. The pa nel d iscussion time ensued cited examples, offered insight and sough t sol utions from a variety o f peop le in tl1e audience. It concluded that the world com m unity n eed s to unite and bring about a mange in cultures that prac tice genderc id e, a nd compel di em to val ue women and end. injustice towards them

The mood turn ed sombre after wa tching the m ovie as tl1e audience was left digesting sh oc king statistics an d clisturbing footage o n genderc ide.

The sumpn1ous dinner that foll owed, however, triggered a ch a nge back into party mode ru1d several people took to the dance floo r in die course of the c e lebratio n.

Prior to the film viewing , the audience was entertained with a multicultural fashion show tliat was beautifully ch oreographed by R ashi Kapoor. Local girls from all walks of life kept a fluid pace o n stage to promote culnual diversity

The group showcased outfits from Punjab, Rajasman, Bangladesh, Sri Lank a, Afghru1istan, China and otl1er South E a stern regio n s. The outfits incorporated both a:aclitio n al and modem clothin g, and customs m at have bee n passed d own through ages were celebrated th.rough clothes that are worn every day. The participants of the show performed tl1e ir complex carwalk routines quite well under the able guidanc e of Kapoor. Dh aoan jay Kapoor who also doub led up as the DJ for the night, provi d ed appropriate eth nic m usic to accom pany the catwalk.

Liz Beattie M P from Yuro ke (A ustralian L abor Par ty) was tbe gu est of honour for tl,e eveni n g, and cogedier with Deepak Vinayak JP, fotmcler of SACLG, felicitated Dr O'Co nno r for her wo r k wi tl1in the In dian community. ln her acceptance speed1 Dr O'Con n or requested the au dience to suppo r t h e r cause by signi ng a petition tl1at she had initiated recentl y Ir urged judicial au thorities ro ban and criminali se che demanding and receiving of cash and g ifts by Australia n residents in connection wi th a m arriage, irrespective of i ts location for up to seven years Io addi tion , it also urged dowry rela ted offe nces to be ptuushab le

''Directed By

Evan Grae Davis, It's a girl was released in 2012 and is a documentary that captures the personal stories of people, and the systematic and deliberate destruction of girls in India and China with seve re crimin al and civil penaltie s to apply.

PLm eec Gulati, upcoming a c tor and )'OLlth C Ltltur al A mba ssador SAYCA (South Asian Youth Connect A us tralas ia) wrapped up the evening by thru1king all the guests and spo n sor s especially tl1e Victorian Multicu.lrnral Commission fo r funding tl1e eve n t.

Guests enjoy a Bollywood-themed party to celebrate the launch of IFFM2014

ALW visit to the h istoncal Raheen Mansion in Kew in Mel bourne is about the whole experience. The Italianate style, heritage -listed building that belongs to billionaires Jean and A nthony Pratt, has a wealth of character. From the imposing gates and lush manicured lawns through to the ritzy decor and tastefuUy done interior, the mansion bas been the venue o f choice for many o f :tvfelbourne's high society parries. It was the perfect location to host a BoUywood themed par ry to celebrate the launch of the 2014 prog ram of the Indian Film Fesrival in Melbourne (IFFM).

Louise Asher, Minister for Innovario n, l\lliuis ter for Tourism and Major E~,ents, and l\{inister for Employment and Trade attended the dinner event in a beaurifully handcrafted smi presented to her b y festival director "tvliru Bhowmick Lange. Many other guests also made an efforr to spo rt fodian Boll ywood style dothiug and looked magnificent, thanks to all the colours and bling. Former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu cut an imposing figure in his orange gold siU, k11rta teamed up unusually w ith a natty tie. Orange was also the d10ice for V idya Balan, BoUywood 's re igning actress, who was the gues t of honour at the event. The rest of the invitees comprised of a select group of festival spo nsors, supporters, organisers aud media representati ves i\lfs Balan continued to share the va riou s highlights that festival attendees could look forward to, including details of the inaugural awards presentation scheduled to be held in May. She claimed that she had a love affair with Me lbourne that made her want to come back to visi t this 'wonderful city full of warm peopl e' again and again.

Ms Bhowm.ick Lange invited V idya Balan, braud ambassador of the festival to join her on stage ro announce the program. Gracious as ever, Ms Balan thanked the hosts for their hospitality and complimeuted Minister Asher and other guests oo their Indian attire, particuhdy Ted Baillieu who she claimed could be 'the Arnitabh Bachchan of Me lbourne'.

''Amitabh Bachcl1an will be here in :Melbo urne soon, perhaps we could make both o f you stand together to see who is taller", she said w ith characteristic chutzpah.

The entertainment for the night was in the form of some beautifully rendered songs by Austral ian actor Simon Gleason and bis wife actress atalic O'Donnell John Molloy, festival co- director, offi cially thanked the guests for their contribution towards making this festival happen. \l{lhile l isting the main spons ors. John also took the opportunity to thank Visy and rl1e Prates for their generosity in hosting this event. He then went on to acknowledge all the lndian commilllity .leaders and the media sponsors for their ongoing support in promoting the festival. According to one of the great things about this festival is that both sides of rl1e politic s come to enjoy and celebrate the festival together w ith everyone. As the executive chairman of Visy, o ne of Australia's largest privately owned companies, rAnthony Pratt is an avid supporter of the festival and is also on the advisor y board along with M iss Manika Jain, Consul General of India in Melbourne. The festival ad visory b oard also boasts names like Ronnie Screwala, founder of UTV group; Vikramjit Roy head of publicity at Sony Pictures E nte rtainment, lndi.a; actress Simi Garewal; aud Pamela Chopra, wife of iconic lilrn maker the l ate Yash Chopra. W ith over 40 fi lms on offer, several renowned festival guests iocludiog legendary actor Amitabh Bad1chan, an acco mpli shed jury and many festival favourites on offer, this year's IFF.l'-.f promises to be quire an exc itin g event. See yo u there!