Honour killings the focus of filmmaker’s new project
The Shafia murders are not mentioned in Montreal filmmaker Raymonde Provencher’s Crimes Without Honour, but it’s impossible not to think of that horrific crime while watching this disturbing documentary.
Provencher was well into making the film when news broke of the arrest of Mohammad Shafia, his wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, and their son, Hamed, in connection with the deaths of the three teenage Shafia daughters and Mohammad’s first wife. All three were found guilty of first-degree murder in what is one of the most infamous cases of “honour” killings in Canada.
Provencher’s documentary, which just had its premiere at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto and opens in Montreal Friday, May 11, looks at so-called “honour crimes” in Canada, Germany and Sweden.
“I knew that there would be a horrible crime in Canada,” said Provencher, in an interview in a St. Denis St. café earlier this week. “I was probably the person in Quebec the least surprised when the news came out. Was I surprised? No. Was I discouraged? Yes. But maybe that’s the electroshock that Canada needed (to do something about this).
“There have been other honour crimes in Canada but that was the most unbelievable. It’s just not imaginable. I just can’t understand how a mother can take part in the murder of her three daughters. But that a crime like this happened was predictable. We knew it was coming. That’s what this film is about – it’s showing what an honour crime is.”
Crimes Without Honour focuses on a number of women – and one man – who’re fighting to force society to take action to stop these crimes, crimes that Toronto activist Aruna Papp describes as coming when a father believes his daughter’s behaviour is bringing shame to the family.
There are many types of domestic violence, but these honour crimes are different in that, as Provencher puts it, “it’s a family – like in the Sha- fia family. It’s a father, mother and a son who decide to get rid of a person or persons.”
Papp, who’s an Indian Canadian, has had to deal with it, and so have the others showcased in the film, including Necla, a Turkish woman in Germany, Sara, a Kurd in Sweden, and Arkan, a Kurdish man, also in Sweden, who refused to go through with a marriage arranged by his father.
Provencher has been making politically aware documentaries for three decades and she’s always had a passion for chronicling humanrights issues. Her previous film, the 2011 release Grace, Milly, Lucy … Child Soldiers was set in the world of female child soldiers. Given that background, she felt taking a long, hard look at honour crimes was a natural for her. She feels that we simply have to talk about this issue.
“I think we’re at the point where we’re not helping people in danger,” said Provencher. “I think people are smart enough to realize it’s not every Afghan family that murders its daughters. But there are a lot of Afghans who believe in the culture of ‘honour.’ I like the word ‘honour.’ But when we kill in the name of honour – and in 99.9 per cent of the cases, we’re killing girls – I think we have to ask some questions. I think in our society, we agree on at least one thing and that’s the notion of equal rights for men and women. And we have to get that message out. I’ve always been interested in human rights and it’s at the heart of all the work that I do.”
And, as always, she hopes her latest film, at the very least, sparks some debate.
“I don’t think it’s a didactic documentary, but I want people to learn something from the film. I’d like it to be used in schools and in community organizations. I believe a film like this can help start conversations and I’d even go as far as to say it might save lives. Girls will perhaps start talking.” Crimes Without Honour opens Friday, May 11, in Montreal.