Educational Media Reviews Online

Unveiled Views: Muslim Women Artists Speak Out explores the lives of five accomplished Muslim Women in five different countries. All of the women are united by their determination to make a difference and improve the quality of women’s lives in Muslim cultures. Each woman is given a segment of the fifty minute documentary. The featured women and their countries are: Alma Suljevic (Bosnia), Rakshan Bani-Ehmad (Iran), Eren Keskin (Turkey), Moshagan Saadat (Afghanistan), and Nahid Siddiqui (Pakistan).

Alma Suljevic is dedicated to clearing landmines from Sarajevo’s suburbs; Rakshan Bani-Ehmad is a persecuted Iranian filmmaker who must “fly above censorship;” Eren Keskin, a Turkish lawyer, who despite threats, represents feminist concerns and human rights groups; Moshagan Saadat, a Taliban survivor, writes beautiful poetry, and finally, Nahid Siddiqui, a well known Pakistani dancer, has been forced by politics to practice her art outside Pakistan.

Unveiled Views has very much the feel of a good independent film. Hand held and fixed camera shots predominate. Color and sound are good but not of major studio quality. Subtitles are provided throughout and are legible and well centered in the frame. Music is appropriate and interesting, particularly in the last segment with Nahid Siddiqui. However, I thought the overall construction of the film could have been slightly tighter with some introductory shots—used before the protagonists were completely identified—eliminated. Chapters or segment selection were not provided on the evaluation DVD. While most of Unveiled View’s segments are informative, it may be difficult for some American students, without some background information, to fully understand the societal conflicts explored in the documentary. An example would be the conflict between the secular military and Islamic fundamentalists in Turkey. Nevertheless, I can recommend this interesting and ambitious film, particularly for college level women’s studies, multicultural and religious studies programs. Americans need to appreciate that there is a variety of opinion in Muslim countries that is sometimes not adequately reflected in the media and this film admirably presents those diverse viewpoints.