Coming up on September 25 and September 26 are six powerful documentary films by and about women. Many women activists believe that in our patriarchal society, women have a marginal role when it comes to decision making whether in society, family or even personal affairs. The forthcoming six women-centric films, being screened at the BIAM Foundation Auditorium, therefore, fill a yawning abyss. The films have been produced by the AV Centre of the NGO Steps Towards Development.

What's unique about this festival is that the films are a sensitive mirror on women's lives such as their participation in sports, motherhood and contribution to society. All the directors and assistant directors are women, while in two films the videographer is a woman. Five films, barring one have been edited by women. In the words of Sameera Haque and Ommul Khaer Fatema, joint scriptwriters and directors of From Strength to Strength, "We want to get the women's perspective on their own lives and those of other women in Bangladesh."

The screening of the films follows on the footsteps of a two month workshop organised by the AV Centre of Steps Towards Development in March and April last year. Manzare Hassin Murad, advisor of the AV Centre, coordinator of the workshop and script and directorial advisor of the films, amplifies on the genesis of the films. To quote him, " One objective of the workshop was to train women filmmakers and increase their participation in AV, particularly in the fields of direction, camera work and editing. The second aim was to capture a woman's unique perspective on reality."

To get a clearer idea of the forthcoming programme, let's look at From Strength to Strength. Sameera and Ommul have taken on an unusual subject--women's participation in sports. Among the issues they have brought in is the opposition to the first women's football tournament in Dhaka (in the first week of October last year). Though the film was independent of the opposition, it gave a new element to the work--the duo then sought to get people's perspective on the issue. Questions were also raised about the safety of sportswomen in the context of such protests.

Sameera raises a pertinent question: "In a free country where women have played sports for over 50 years, how can anybody just out of the blue say that they shouldn't engage in sports? All the former sportswomen, organisers and parents that we interviewed were very keen that women should continue to play and very opinionated about why they should do so. That influenced our film to a great degree."

The co-directors believe that From Strength to Strength is the first visual document and also probably the first document on women's sports. Among the five sportswomen interviewed in the film is former table tennis player Zobera Rahman Linu. She has bagged a record number of 16 national titles and features in the Guinness Book of World Records for this distinction.

Let's look at another hard-hitting film, titled Motherhood Women's Perspective. The research, script and direction are in the able hands of Nasrin Siraj Annie. The focus is on women's views on motherhood. Women in this film are treated as independent entities rather than just child bearers.

Other films to be screened are Begum (which chronicles the story of Begum magazine, the first women's magazine in Bangladesh), Depannita: A Lady with Versatile Talents (about the first tribal entrepreneur Manjulika Chakma), In Quest of Life (the story of a solitary woman media consultant with a passion for photography and a love for nature) and The Beauty Worker (which delineates the struggles of beauty parlour workers).

Those who choose to see these sensitive films will get a long overdue reminder of women's contribution to the nation. To the AV Centre of Steps Towards Development goes the credit for giving a voice to women and their concerns.