Upon the death
of Iltutmish, Shah Turkan arranges a private word with the Prime Minister to
challenge the Sultan’s Will and position her son on the throne.
Figure 5 (Shah Turkan and the Prime Minister)
The Prime
Minister thinks to himself that Ruknuddin as Sultan will serve as a puppet
leader to which he might pull the strings.
On the day of coronation, when Razia enters the throne room, the Prime
Minister announces that the majority of the Amirs have voted for Ruknuddin to
be Sultan. The argument the Prime
Minister uses against Razia’s rule is based on a Hadith that states ‘a nation cannot prosper under a woman’. The Prime Minister’s use of the Hadith illustrates how religious texts
are taken out of context to suit male political agendas and support a
patriarchal order.
Figure 6 (A nation cannot prosper)
The writing of events for this scene are inspired
and informed by: Fatema Mernissi’s challenges toward this Hadith; Amina Wadud’s Qur’anic reading of Bilqis (also known as the
Queen of Sheba); and Margot Badran’s comments on mischievous interpretations of
religious texts. In further detail
Mernissi explains this Hadith is
often used to limit women’s participation within society and thus sets out to
investigate its origins.
In the manner of
Mernissi and Wadud, the protagonist character Razia, uses these weightier arguments,
based on Ijtihad (independent
critical examination of religious texts), to challenge the Prime Minister’s
argument. Unfortunately for Razia,
these arguments fall on deaf ears and Ruknuddin is crowned sovereign.
Whilst Ruknuddin is Sultan he continues to live a lavish lifestyle,
which involves women, drinking and a variety of expensive luxuries, never does
he attend to his State duties. To
ensure her son remains Sultan and maintain their position within the Royal
household, Shah Turkan oversees her son’s leadership and is the point of call
for the Prime Minister to discuss State matters. Ruknuddin’s unorthodox manner begins to annoy the Amirs, who
discuss the possibility of his replacement. Furthermore, his lavish lifestyle, which is funded by the
people with a constant rise in taxes, has made Ruknuddin unpopular with the
citizens of the Empire.
Figure 7 (
Sultan Ruknuddin’s lavish lifestyle)
Fearful
of the Amirs removal of Rukuddin from office, Shah Turkan orders her servants
and soldiers to seize Qutbuddin, the eight-year-old son of Iltutmish, and his
mother. They are thrown into a
dungeon where Shah Turkan orders the boy to be blinded and the mother executed
for treason. Moreover, for Shah
Turkan the execution was a message to scare the Amirs and the consequences for
considering a new Sultan. After
evening prayers at the mosque, Razia heads out onto the street to talk to the
people of Delhi. They speak of
their unhappiness with the drastic rise in taxes toward non-Muslims. Iltutmish’s dear friend, Tajuddin finds
Razia and tells her of the execution.
In solidarity, Razia with the people go to the palace gates and demand
to speak with the Sultan.
Figure 8 (At the palace gates)
The
soldier tells Razia she is in great danger and requests the people to leave to
avoid the wrath of Shah Turkan.
Meanwhile, Shah Turkan looks down on the scene occurring at the palace
gates from her window. Seeing
Razia as a threat Shah Turkan begins to plot Razia’s death and calls her
servants to carry out her dirty work.
Armed with shovels the servants begin to dig a ditch in the riding
ground, where Razia rides her horse every morning. On the way to the stables, the palace equerry Yaqut sees the
servants digging at the ground and watches from behind a bush. Hearing the servants talk about Shah
Turkan’s plot he immediately informs Razia.
Figure 9 (Yaqut
informs Razia of Shah Turkan’s plot)
The next
morning the riding ground is buzzing with people who have been told of Shah
Turkan’s plot by Razia’s friends.
Razia goes to take a jump but her horse rears and does so again at a
second attempt. Razia asks the
Prime Minister to check the ground and he reveals the ditch. The people call for Shah Turkan and
Ruknuddin to be brought to justice and Razia to be their new Sultan. Ruknuddin and Shah Turkan’s reign was
to last six months in total.
As
Sultan, Razia appoints Tajuddin as her advisor and Yaqut as the Amir of
Amirs. Yaqut’s promotion did not
bode well with the Amirs’ and they were equally disgruntled with the abolition
of the levy on non-Muslims. But
for the people Razia proved to be a fair and just ruler. Razia endorsed the arts and championed
education with the opening of schools and libraries.
Part of the film is currently in production. This part recounts the time while Razia was a Sultan, and the prosperity of the country.
In Razia’s
company the Prime Minister passes judgment on her character based upon her
wearing of the veil. In previous
scenes the manner in which Shah Turkan wears the veil is very different to
Razia. For Shah Turkan the veil
serves as a status symbol that signifies her importance. Razia not wearing a veil is to
illustrate Muslim women’s choice to veil or not. So synonymous have Islam and veiling become, the generally
accepted idea is that the veil is an Islamic custom. Womens studies scholar Leila Ahmed has discovered that
veiling was in fact a European custom, originating in Greek Hellenic society,
which gradually spread to the Middle East.
In the
Middle East the custom became a fashionable status symbol signifying wealth and
importance. Women of all faiths in the Middle East, whether Jew, Christian or
Muslim wore the veil, only the poor, prostitutes and servants did not.
Therefore,
veiling appears to be a tradition that has remained with the Muslim community.
Further scenes which are currently under productions are dealing with the issue of the veil and the debates on it. The powerfull message that Sultan Razia offers and the adversity she faces offers a means to illustrate Muslim's woman agency in challenging gender and racial prejudice.
MA:
List ten or more keywords to describe your film.
SS: Agency, Historical, Women, Islam, Recovery, Filmmaking, Equal Rights, Research,
Animation, Alternative, Subversive.
MA:
What emotions do you feel your film brings forth in viewers?
SS: I hope the
film will illustrate the heterogeneity of the Muslim woman. Not only do Muslim
women have an imbedded history with the development of Islam but also
historically Muslim women have and continue to hold positions of power within
society. Thereby using the film
medium I hope to debunk such myths about Islam and stereotypes associated with
Muslim women.
For a younger audience I hope the animation will fill the racial and
cultural gap of representation upon the screen. For instance cultural studies scholar Jack Shaheen points
out that:
"Muslim
mothers, too, strive to shield their children. Citing scores of old motion pictures being telecast on cable
systems, along with cartoons, re-runs of television dramas and sit-coms, plus
newly created TV programs and TV movies-of-the-week, they fear that
stereotyping has become more pervasive than ever."
(Jack Shaheen)
As
animation is often a feature of
children’s entertainment, this film may resonate with Muslim girls who may like to identify
themselves with the story of a Muslim princess that represents their own ethnic
group and culture, instead of being subjected to racial stereotypes within the
media, particularly cartoons. However,
the creative practice is not made specifically with children in mind. I hope that the film may engage with an
adult audience as well in an effort to defuse racial and gender prejudice. The use of the film medium to illustrate
the Muslim woman as an intrinsic and vital part of the heritage of Islam and
society just may offer a refreshing take on Islam that breaks away from Muslim
women stereotypes supported by common topics of veiling and extremism.
MA:
So, do you think your film (together with your research) embeds within its
narrative a particular emotion?
SS: Viewing and reading sensationalist stories by the
media about Islam and veiled Muslim women, myself being a Muslim woman found
such stories difficult to relate to. Media images are very different to my upbringing and understanding of
Islam and the important role women have played within the faith be it religious
or historical. Undertaking this
PhD project provides me with an opportunity to explore further my Muslim
heritage and culture. Whilst
reading the texts that form the literature review for my PhD, which also forms
the foundations of the creative practice, many emotions are stirred within
me. I am overwhelmed at the level
of eloquence Muslim women scholar-activists use when discussing their research.
What I find frustrating is that
these scholars are not given the airtime by the media to communicate their
gender-sensitive readings of the Qur’an and history to a wider audience. Rather the media tends to focus on
patriarchal and extremist interpretations that only appear to enforce a
particular image of the faith.
As a consequence of reading Muslim women’s scholar-activist
texts that are informative about women’s rights in Islam, I feel frustrated
when writing this film, when all I want to do is quash misogyny. The way in which Razia is portrayed in
the film I do not think illustrates my frustration due to her patience and
strength of character. If any emotions
are to be evoked from the film I hope the audience are able to empathise with
Razia and be cognizant to an alternative portrayal of Islam that Razia
encapsulates.
MA: What are your research and film’s strengths?
SS: In light of Fatema Mernissi embarks upon her investigation of
historical Muslim female heads of State, in The
Forgotten Queens of Islam, and using the film medium to provide an example of
Muslim women as Heads of State my work answers Mernissi’s call for a wider
dissemination of nisa’ist research. Animation as an expressive cine dialect
evokes an attractive way of illustrating Muslim women’s agency that might
appeal to a wider audience outside academia. The use of animation opens Islam up to the mainstream and I
believe this approach to filmmaking will not only appeal to the Muslim
demographic because of the Islamic subject matter but also to the general
public who may be curious and want to understand more about Islam and women’s
role within the faith.
MA:
What are your film’s weaknesses?
SS: Being a self-funded PhD student has been very
difficult and depressing at times.
Although I believe my project is important in order to challenge racial,
gendered and cultural stereotypes associated with Islamophobia within a
multicultural society, especially post 9/11, the lack of support from film bodies,
broadcast associations and the AHRC via the university body are not in support
of such a project. As a
consequence I question my ability as a filmmaker and researcher and whether I
can do the subject any justice. I
feel this rejection is a reflection of how Muslim women-activist scholars
research is often ignored. In
regards to the film medium the lack of support mirrors the silencing of an
alternative voice. To offer an
alternative perspective and get these stories in to the public domain is a
battle of perseverance. Resourcefulness is key and the self-satisfaction in making the film and having
belief in my work, when others do not, provides an inner strength that is
fundamental to not quit, when trying to strive for racial and gendered
equality.
Besides the lack of funding, another weakness to
the film and filmmaking process may be the time the animation actually takes to
produce. Not only do I have to
theorise, analyse and discuss the relationship between theory and practice, I
have to make all the sets, props and characters for the film, all of which have
been researched for historical accuracy.
The stop-frame animation process, which consists of a frame at a time to
capture motion, for this film means each frame has to be treated individually
in the post-production process, for instance frames require: colour correcting
and the juxtaposing of images against a background made in Photoshop. Therefore, for a lone-academic
filmmaker the filmmaking process requires a lot of time.
Figure 10 (Research Notes)
Figure 11 (Experimental Piece and Storyboard)
Figure 12 (Screenwriting)
Figure 13 (Film Documentation)
Figure 14 (Storyboard)
Figure 15 (Making of the puppets)
Figure 16 (Painted papier-mâché heads)
Figure 17 (Film production)
The interest my research has captured so far has
been with National Grassroots Organisations. For example, I have met with ‘Femin Ijtihad’ and continue
correspondence with them.
They have been kind enough to feature my work on
their website and have approached me to find a means through illustration to
visually explain the workings of Islamic Law. Femin Ijtihad themselves use
Islamic jurisprudence to secure education for women and provides legal aid in
Afghanistan.
Figure 18 (Femin Ijtihad website)
Outside the context of my research but still
through visual arts practice during my PhD I have had the opportunity to work
in post-war Sri Lanka with ‘Tea Leaf Vision’. Tea Leaf Vision is a school for 18-25 year old's stuck within
the caste system. The school
offers the chance to learn English, IT skills and provides scholarships to
those who want to go to university.
Here I designed a lesson plan for students to create shadow puppet plays
to illustrate and discuss emotional health issues within the community and
various forms of mediation dealing with: genocide; rape; alcoholism; and both
physical and mental abuse. These
plays were then shown to the village one evening.
Further
opportunities arising from my film may be that the film will be screened at
various venues both nationally and internationally. As I keep emphasising, most of all I hope to offer a
subversive image of the Muslim woman and Islam. In this vein I intend to
continue making films about Muslim women branching out into documentary filmmaking.
MA: How do you redefine the notions of identity, and how do you speak about
south Asian culture?
SS: Ideas surrounding
identity conversely run parallel with issues of representation. Often I tend to
ask myself these questions when reviewing media representations of race:
Whose stories are being told, and by
whom for whom?
How do countries broadcast their culture
within and outside their borders? How do countries broadcast other
countries and cultures as being and why?
These
questions are very similar and stem from social theorist Michel Foucault’s
three questions that underline the study of representation, both politically
and socially:
Who is being represented and by whom?
What are the social and textual power
relations that come into play in the act of representing?
Why certain groups have been included and excluded, marginalised and
reconfigured through representation?
Perceptions on how Muslim women view themselves and
Islam appear to be strikingly different to the stereotype commonly presented
within western ideologies, inclusive of public opinion, academic texts and
political agendas. A
common perception in western thought is that Islam is the cause of oppression
toward the Muslim woman. Previous academic texts and feminist thinking have dominated in their
representations of race and concepts of gender, often
convinced that women have no rights in Islam. Muslim women scholar-activists have seized the reins to challenge
prejudice and source the cause for such discrimination. However, in spite of huge strides taken
in activist-scholarship to address the Muslim woman’s condition, the opinion of
Islam as the perpetrator for the ill treatment of the Muslim woman
persists. What many scholars point out is the construction of stereotypes are
designed to solicit certain political and social agendas.
To paint all Muslim women across the world with the same stereotyped
brush is unfeasible but unfortunately the oppressed image is one that has become
generally accepted and repeated.
Recovering the identity of the Muslim woman lies at the heart of many
Muslim women-scholar activists work and important to my work is to illustrate the heterogeneity of the Muslim
woman. Such diversity I hope is apparent
in the animation, characterised by Shah Turkan, Razia and a schoolteacher,
through their dress, vocation and approach to life.
Figure 19 (Shah Turkan)
Figure 20 (Schoolteacher)
In regards to South Asian culture I want the film
to depict the diversity of Indian people inhabiting the same space, living
equally side-by-side. Somewhat
akin to ideas of multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, the animated characters
of Delhi have their own beliefs, religious practices and cultures. To show this I mainly use costumes
along with the figures being sculpted and painted to have their own individual
features.
Figure 21 (From left to right: a Sikh gentleman; a Muslim
gentleman; a Hindu lady; and a Hindu gentleman)
MA:
Do you see yourself, being part of a new wave of indie south
Asian/British cinema, which subverts stereotypes? And how?
SS: My father is a Pakistani born British citizen for he was born in 1936
when the British ruled India, before the division of India and Pakistan. My English mother identifies herself as
being Muslim and because of my parental backdrop I classify myself as a
mixed-race British Muslim. I do
not consider myself as part of a new wave of British South Asian filmmakers,
only due to the subject matter and aesthetic approaches I use with the film
medium. Indie South Asian British filmmakers; screenwriters and novelists who have
contributed to film and come to my mind are: Pratibha Palmer; Gurinder Chadha;
Meera Syal; Hanif Kureshi; Zadie Smith; and Monica Ali. The majority of feature films
associated with these artists may be considered to incorporate a realist
approach. To mention but a few: East is East (1999), Bend it Like Beckham (2002); Bhaji on the Beach (1993); and TV series
like The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) and
White Teeth (1992) all appear to
based upon South Asian experience of living in the UK. These films provide an example of what
TV and cinema viewing was once like in Britain during the nineties and beginning of the 21st century but such racially sensitive programming I think has all but vanished
from British screens. At this
present time I do not feel there is a wealth of talented screenwriters or
filmmakers who are being utilised by the British film and media corporations as
once was.
I would
like to thank Sabi for her invaluable contribute, which explores a neglected area of cultural studies. Her research is inspiring, and brings further reflections on the way emotions moves across discipline smoothly building significances to
the reader of this blog.
