Name of the film I Am Hadiya

Directed by Gopal Menon

Year 2017

CountryIndia

Duration57 mins

LanguageHindi

About the film

Directed by documentary filmmaker Gopal Menon, the film is produced by National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO). I am Hadiya talks about the challenging times in which a 25-year-old woman is denied her fundamental rights. Human rights violations faced by Hadiya and a cross section of other issues including the right to practice a religion of one’s choice is what makes the core of the documentary film.

Director’s Note

The documentary will bring to light the injustice faced by Hadiya over a conversion which, according to her, was by her own and will establish the allegations raised against Shafin S. Jahan, Hadiya’s husband, as baseless. Through the course of the film, the filmmaker has spoken to a variety of people including film critic and women’s rights activist J Devika and writer and poet K. Satchidanandan. ‘This is a case of judicial gharwapsi,’Gopal said, explaining that Hadiya’s marriage to Shafin was no sham. ‘For one, the court has no right to annul a marriage on a habeas corpus petition. Moreover, the court has not even heard Hadiya’s side properly. This is the violation of all norms. The whole of Kerala is demanding that Hadiya be heard,’ Gopal said.

Director Biography

Gopal Menon is an Indian documentary film director, producer and cinematographer known for his activism through social action documentaries. He has made films on violence, religious fundamentalism, nationality question, state repression, human rights, environment, caste, gender and sexuality.. His film Let the Butterflies Fly—on the condition of transgender people in India, won the Best Feature-Length Documentary Award at Kashish 2012, the Mumbai Queer Film Festival.