When Fauzia Minallah introduced herself to children at the 18th International Children’s Film Festival, the setting seemed straight out of a movie. “I’m a Pakistani. Have you ever met anyone from Pakistan? Am I any different?”
The Pakistani author-director’s film on 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai has also been careful while telling the tale of the girl who was shot by the Taliban, without enraging ‘sections’ of the country.
“There is fear while communicating ideas because you can get into trouble. One also needs to be careful even with a single word because you could be accused of blasphemy. The fear is there,” she admits.
“But I don’t want confrontations with people. I think and I work out of love on things that have affected me or made me think,” says Fauzia, the creator of a character for children called Amai, the ‘bird of light’. The bird transforms into a shooting star and transports children to different parts of the world, including India, where they meet Sikhs and Hindus and understand their cultures.
Fauzia began working on her film on Malala after Amai bagged an award in Rome. But the honour also explains the way Fauzia works and how she does it in a country like Pakistan. She relies on animation to create images and music with a story. While it helps keep her away from controversy or ‘saying anything wrong’, images and music are the most ‘powerful’ ways to communicate. And speaking about the latest animation rage in Pakistan, the Burqa Avenger, she says, “The animated series is about a teacher turning into a vigilante to educate girls has become extremely popular (the villain’s called Baba Bandook). While women’s groups are debating whether the character really needs to be wearing a black burqa, the efforts are commendable.”
When Fauzia first met Malala, she was taken aback by her strength. But today, she is afraid that Malala is turning into an icon with dangerous consequences.
“Many people are accusing her of being an ‘agent’ of the West,” she says, adding, “Malala is 16 and travelling the world, while my 16-year-old son is busy writing his exams. Why shouldn’t she have a normal childhood, although a part of it died when she was shot?”
Fauzia also points out to the dangers of deviating from the cause. “Malala and her father have been fighting for the right of education for girls in the Swat region. But recently, he made a statement on Salman Rushdie. Was it really necessary?” she asks.
Fauzia, who met Malala in Birmingham, England, recently, hopes that she gets the childhood she deserves, “She only speaks about how she enjoys going to school in New York. But she has to be careful because people across the world recognise her,” she warns.
