By Sharanya Dutta
Fareeha Tafeem is 14, goes to school in Hyderabad, and learns Wushu, a sport derived from martial arts. A new documentary by Jayisha Patel for Al Jazeera, called India’s Wushu Warrior Girl, tells Fareeha’s story, including her journey to a national-level Wushu competition in Assam.
Parts of the film are enjoyable: the ‘vivacious personality’ of the protagonist, as Patel describes her, the lingo of Hyderabad, and the way the film refreshingly casts Sajid Sir, Fareeha’s head teacher, and her father in a progressive light. Although the actual dialogue is restricted to the “times have changed” and “let her go out into the world and make something of herself” narrative, Fareeha does eventually get to compete at the nationals, despite her mother being dead against it. Of course, she wins.
The film shows us Fareeha’s mother repeatedly saying no to her, and her brother mumbling about her bringing dishonour to the family name should she go out and showcase herself in front of an audience, as well as Fareeha making chai and pressing her father’s feet. We see how much sport means to her when we see her so nervous during her fight that she’s dizzy, while her trainers urge her on — they tell her she has to fight only to win, and that she isn’t like her competitor who is crying.
Aside from the film’s grand narrative of the ‘warrior girl’, it isn’t entirely a story of liberation. We see how Fareeha’s life beyond sports, and the lives of the women around her, remain unchanged. Her school teaches wushu for self-defence, to combat sexual violence (the references to an increase in sexual violence are not explored further in the video). Fareeha’s mother’s concerns are eventually silenced by her father: “Don’t make me mad”, he says, disregarding his wife even as he champions his daughter’s freedom.
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