The five films made by 25 girls under the SHE Creates project were premiered on Oct. 2 at the Manik Sabha Auditorium, Bandra. SHE Creates, a unique filmmaking workshop was organised jointly by Population First and MAM Movies. The 25 girls were from varied backgrounds who got together in a 19-day workshop to create films on the theme, 'What it is to be a girl'. They were oriented to girl child and gender issues for the first two days by the Laadli team and then given training on how to use the camera, write scripts and other technical issues. Renowned filmmakers Ashok Pandit, Deepti Naval and Sudhir Mishra lent support to the campaign 
and 'mentored' the girls. SHE Creates is a part of the media advocacy efforts of the Laadli campaign.
Oct. 2 was chosen as it marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who famously said, ""… as long as the birth of a girl does not receive the same welcome as that of a boy, so long we should know that India is suffering from partial paralysis."
The 25 participants were selected from Apne Aap, Bombay Cambridge School, Naaz, Rescue Foundation and Uncle Sam's Coaching Classes. The five films made deal with issues like sex selection, female foeticide, dowry, early marriage and gender discrimination. Vibhuti Joshi, 16, a participant from the NGO, Rescue Foundation says the experience has given her tremendous confidence. She says, “Initially we were wondering whether we would be able to use a camera, make a film; but now we are already planning our next film!” The film made by this group is on the issue of innocent girls being cheated and made to join the flesh trade.
On the project, Laadli spokesperson Suneeta Rao says, "I can't think of a better way of giving these girls an opportunity to assert themselves, and even better, express themselves on what it is to be a girl." She adds, "Also, there's no better medium than films to do that, because it is such a popular, do-able and accessible medium!" She was present at the premiere, along with other celebrities like singer Kailash Kher and ad man Prasoon Joshi.
Through the media component, Laadli advocates for a media that is gender sensitive and socially conscious. Dr. A.L. Sharada, programme director, Population First says, "We believe strongly that the women's perspective is missing in the media and needs to find its rightful place in it."
Youth and adolescents are important stakeholders in the campaign, as they have the potential to play the role of 'change agents'- by redefining the gender equations in their own lives as well as by initiating public discourse on the issue in their families, and communities.
SHE Creates is the perfect blend of both components. It gave the girls an opportunity to project their world from their perspective and also uses the films so produced to create widespread awareness about the issue through innovative e- technologies both in the media and in the community.
Read more about the project on www.shecreates.org
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