24.5.10

Film: The Stoning Of Soraya M.



This film was devastating to watch. It is based on a true story and as the title suggest it is about a woman subjected to a brutal death by stoning. It is adapted from Freidoune Sahebjam, a French-Iranian journalist’s 1994 book of the same name.
I have seen footage of a stoning and wrote a bunch of amnesty letters to various governmental agencies (I was in the amnesty club in high school and writing is a powerful tool). In 2002 Amina Lawal Kurami , a Nigerian woman, made headlines after being sentenced by an Islamic Sharia court, to death by stoning. Her crime was for adultery and the evidence was having a child out of wedlock. This caught worldwide attention after Oprah made a plea to write letters to the Nigerian Government. It was eventually overturned.
Although no countries actively admitted to this kind of punishment there is proof that it has happened in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran in this century. So much more needs to be done.
I forced myself to watch this film (and to watch the stoning) because it is real and it is true and I believe that by becoming part of it, in mind, I can lessen the pain of another.
The injustice is extreme and infuriating, and happening right now.
In my humble opinion you should watch this film and get sad then mad.
Check out amnesty internationals , stay informed and learn what you can do to help.

17 comments:

essbesee said...

incredible that this still goes on. thanks for posting this.

jacqueline said...

Dear Ren, thanks for sharing this film with us! I do want to watch this. Just the other day i was watching a documentary on Discovary Channel on this and it's so sad to see that this is still going on there. Thanks so much for sharing this with us! Have a lovely merry happy day and love to you!

Bossy Betty said...

Thanks. This movie came to our town and i was not able to see it. You are right--it's important.

msihua said...

I can never sit through sad/drama/psychological movies like this. It makes me depressed...

But thanks to you, I only have to read the summary! Yayy!

Couture Carrie said...

Great review, darling!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxox,
CC

cpcable said...

Wow, this sounds like an incredibly important film. I've put it on my list, but I know it's going to take me awhile to get up the courage to actually watch it. Much like "Push" (which I also have been putting off watching) there's never really a time that I "want" to watch these sort of films. But I know that I should.

;) said...

Sometimes I wish "writing be a more powerful tool"... I think it's important to write, to say, to show what women (and men) live in "our" world !

A "strong" post

jeanette from everton terrace said...

A group of my friends went to see this when it came out and I backed out at the last minute. I just didn't think I could sit through it. Perhaps now that I can rent it, allowing to pause when I need a break. Not sure.

tulpen said...

God. I don't know if I could watch it. Just don't know.

drollgirl said...

how in the WORLD can this process still continue?! it is unfathomable. and so wrong.

Marija said...

This would be nearly impossible to watch. What you said about the experience has me thinking, though, and I just may try. Important to be aware of what's happening in this world. Pleasant lot not. Letters are indeed powerful.

Phoenix said...

I was part of Amnesty International in high school too - it opened my eyes to a lot of the outside world and I firmly believe it's made me much more aware of the world around me.

I don't think I could bear to watch this but it's so important to not stay ignorant of these topics, either.

Great post.

Tracie said...

Hard to believe that this is going on in 2010. I don't know if I could stand to watch it.

Masy said...

I've seen that movie.. words seem small.
we just have to believe in a better world.

have a very nice day.
best,
masy

Fé... said...

I've always had a thing or two for indie movie. I think this one is interesting to see. Thanks for sharing!

Stella said...

Hey Lady Ren, you know, the sad thing is that this type of stuff does happen to both women and men all over the world for hideous reasons. Besides it being just so obviously brutal, the hypocrisy is that this type of punishment is not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. It dates back to pagan times. Unfortunately, a lot of bad practice is justified by religions that don't even condone such a thing (at least not on paper-Torah, Injeel, Quran)...
Very touching post. Stella

River Sanctuary: Marykaye said...

There are so many ugly (and beautiful) things in the world that we are not aware of. The ones that are too horrible to imagine are easy to turn away from but it is a gift that we can know about them and change them. Thanks so much for your lovely blog and sharing this.

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