The Earthen Pot (Use and Discard)

In India, a large number of young girls is abused every day; used and discarded. In the documentary MATIR BHANR, five of these girls are interviewed. Twelve-year-old Namita has to do the housekeeping all by herself. In her spare time, she tries to finish school. Her sister has died from burns that were inflicted on her by her in-laws. The perpetrators were soon released on bail. Sufia has also been mistreated by her husband in all possible ways. She was forced to drink kerosene and tea with hot pepper, her fingers were broken and she was repeatedly struck with an iron bar. Still, each of the girls tries to make something of her life and dares to dream of a brighter future. As a basis for her film, director Debananda Sengupta used an investigation by the Women Studies department of Jadavpur University, for which six hundred girls from rural areas were interviewed about their family situation.