Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, recently told Sky News in an exclusive interview that she must consider other storytelling techniques in her next phase of activism.
She is seated next to renowned director and director of Joyland Saim Sadiq. The award-winning movie’s executive producer is Malala. “Working for an NGO is not sufficient for activism. We need to come up with additional strategies for opposing social norms that deprive women of their fundamental freedoms.”
The 24-year-old entered the entertainment industry to tell the tales she thought were deserving. Malala has also taken it upon herself to address the ongoing hounding surrounding Saim’s recent offering in addition to several Apple Inc projects that are in the works. She claimed, “The screen helps us connect with the people. It also fosters greater tolerance for other people.
‘Everyone’s story is important’
Malala expressed her gratitude to Saim for casting a trans woman to play Biba in the film. “This was critical,” Malala said. “Everyone deserves to have their story told, and it’s even more important that it’s told by them.
Transgender people should be granted the same rights as everyone else. What’s unfortunate is that we don’t want people to discuss problems. We don’t want their stories to be adapted for the big screen. I hope we can put that to the test.”
Joyland makes an attempt to do just that. It is the first major Pakistani film to feature a transgender actor in the lead role.
Despite being Pakistan’s Oscars contender, the country’s government banned the film in August, after increasing pressure from hardline Islamic groups that called it “repugnant” and “highly objectionable”.
“Glamorizing transgenders in Pakistan, as well as their love affairs, is a direct attack on our beliefs,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senator from the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.
Amnesty International said the ban was “censorship” and represented a “crackdown of freedom of expression”.
The decision was overturned mid-November, and now the film is available – with some edits – across the country, bar Punjab, where the film is set.
Director Saim Sadiq, 31, told Sky News the film “turned out to be a big act of resistance”.
“I realised when the film was being released, that there are a lot of people who are very uncomfortable with just the existence of this film,” he said.
“Banning the film is perhaps the fastest way to make the activism work and to get everybody to talk about the issues we want them to talk about.”