WEBVTT

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Bradshaw: In the West,
they call it the glass ceiling,

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an invisible barrier
that keeps women from the top.

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In Asia, well,
call it the silk ceiling.

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We\'ve been following
one young Indian journalist

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who\'s broken through
the silk ceiling

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and who\'s making a film
about how to tear it down.

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[dramatic music]

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[jangly percussive music]

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[music]

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Anand\'s a man,

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and so is Shrish.

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Once a year,
they make a discovery:

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what it\'s like to be a woman.

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Here in Bihar State,
like the rest of India,

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it\'s Navratri,

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nine days of celebration
and family.

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But one person\'s here to work:

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national TV journalist
Ritu Bhardawaj.

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She\'s got something
more serious on her mind.

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- Women sometimes face
a lot of problems.

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When you perform as a woman,
do you face any?

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- A lot.
- What kind?

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- When we perform as women
and go on the stage,

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men start to talk strangely
and harass us

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because we are dressed as women.

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They start talking to us
in a vulgar way.

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They think just because
we are in women\'s form,

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they can treat us like women,

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even knowing we are men.

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Performing as women
while being a man is tough,

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especially with the way
the men behave with us.

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I can only imagine how bad
the plight of women must be.

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Bradshaw:
Celebrated in Navratri:

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the ideal feminine.

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Hindu India
has many female goddesses,

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but across south Asia,

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real human women
are widely disempowered,

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as Anand and Shrish
know firsthand.

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- Do you think men and women
are equal?

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And what would you tell the men?

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- When we\'re dancing,
we think we are just like women.

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We think we are all one.

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But the menfolk
don\'t really understand.

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They are only interested
in teasing us.

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What we would like
is for the government

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to announce something
to benefit women.

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That would be a great thing.

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[festive music]

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? ?

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Bradshaw:
It\'s a bit of a surpriseÑ

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ancient festival
to feminist manifesto.

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But here in one
of India\'s poorest states,

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something is already happening.

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Ritu is making a film
about gender inequality,

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the silk ceiling that hangs
above so many women in India

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and its Asian neighbors.

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- Though the men are sharing
their workers

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with their male counterparts,

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they\'re enjoying
the financial freedom

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in, like, Delhi and Bombay,
Bangalore,

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but still the basic human rights
are under siege in the country.

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Like, is girls a commodity?

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What is the basic thinking
of the males in the society?

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So I just want to ask,
what\'s our society doing

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and our government is doing
in this direction?

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Bradshaw:
Ritu\'s come to Raghai,

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a village where men and women
seem locked in old ways.

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Few women in south Asia
own any assets.

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A new U.N. report claims

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it\'s one of the main reasons
they\'re disempowered.

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But in Bihar, some villages
have transferred land

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and property to women

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in return for government help
and cash.

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It\'s part of a unique Indian
experiment in local government

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called Panchayati Raj.

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The local NGO
Ritu\'s keen to interview

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has helped put it
into practice.

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- Do you feel that if women
are given ownership of assets,

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including land,

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this will help
make them empowered?

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And do you think this will bring
any changes in society?

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- [speaking foreign language]

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male translator: In Bihar,
the men migrate

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to work in different states,

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and because of this,
the women are the ones

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that actually do the farming.

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So we started a project

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where if the land
and property holdings

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were transferred
to a woman\'s name,

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then we would give
family access

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to various government schemes.

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A lot of men agreed to do this,
even if some did not.

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The important thing is that
the women feel confident

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they had ownership of the land
they were tilling.

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It has been a great experiment.

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Bradshaw:
To see how great an experiment,

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meet Kiran Devi,

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named by her dad
after India\'s top woman cop.

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At first glance,

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an ordinary housewife
serving tea for friends.

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But the Panchayati Raj
experiment

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isn\'t just about land rights.

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It\'s about a whole system

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of devolving government
down to villages,

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and at least 1/3 of the posts
are reserved for women.

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Now Kiran\'s life
has been transformed.

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She\'s been elected sarpanch,
or village head.

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What\'s more,
supposedly backward Bihar

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has also established
gram kacheri,

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or village courts.

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[woman speaking
foreign language]

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And this one\'s run by Kiran.

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The case Ritu\'s filming:

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a woman\'s three sons
are insisting

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she leaves land to them,
not to her daughter.

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The decision: Kiran\'s.

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- We can only find out
the reality on the ground

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once we investigate
in your village.

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- Of the land
that our family owned,

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we were only given 1/3.

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And her father has given her
some land as well.

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- Listen, if her father
has given her the land,

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it\'s her property.

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Now continue.

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- Yes, it was given
by him to her.

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Then we divided it.

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But we got no more
of the land or properties.

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- These boys don\'t care.

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This one smashed
his youngest brother\'s head

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a day before the Rakhi festival

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and ran off to Punjab
to earn money.

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But then I asked him to help
build a family house together,

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and he refused saying
he doesn\'t have any money.

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- In more the half the cases,

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women are able to file
their own cases.

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The women are ahead on this.

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- Do the men Panchayati members
support you?

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- Yes, the men do help us.

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Bradshaw: Over 200 cases
successfully resolved.

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Kiran\'s helping
the whole village,

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but it\'s often women
who need justice most.

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Enforcing their rights
in big city courts

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can take up to ten years.

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And even here,
women had to fight,

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sometimes literally.

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- After we women came to power,

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domestic violence
increased a lot.

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The men didn\'t want the women
to be on equal status with them.

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They didn\'t want them
to stand in front of them,

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sit on a chair next to them,
or talk to them.

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So this essentially sparked off
a lot of domestic violence.

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But slowly things started
to improve.

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People started helping
each other,

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especially seeing
the women members

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across all Panchayats
doing their work.

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Bradshaw: Rights enforced
by law and persuasion.

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- Do you think women
are on an equal footing

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with men in your village today?

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Are men giving women
their due rights?

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- The women are now getting
their rights.

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Where they\'re not being given
their rights,

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we all go together
and explain to them

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why they should be given
their rights.

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Bradshaw:
Kiran Devi holds her court

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under a ficus tree,

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a reminder of where the Buddha

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is said to have gained
enlightenment.

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- When we do our duties
and our work,

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we don\'t see any problems.

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We face whatever
the difficulties are.

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When we do our work
and give our ruling,

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people respect our decisions
and agree to what we are saying.

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Because of this, all problems
seem easy to conquer.

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Bradshaw: While Kiran\'s paid
a small fee,

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many Panchayat members
are not paid.

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That can discriminate
against poorer women.

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But having a woman role model

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means young girls compete
with the boys at school.

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In the future,
they\'ll be laughing,

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maybe all the way to the bank.

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[children laughing]

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Bradshaw:
Back in Delhi,

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Ritu\'s trying
to beat the deadline

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for her film
on gender inequality.

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She\'s been watching more stories

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from her colleagues
in Indonesia.

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- Yeah, thank you very much
for the film you sent to me.

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Bradshaw:
Indonesia\'s constitution

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guarantees equality
between the sexes,

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but Islamic law, custom,
even civil lawÑ

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that can be different.

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Indonesian novelist Ayu Utami

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says she\'s making
a personal stand

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against marriage laws,

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laws which
can license Muslim men

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having more than one wife.

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- I think polygamy

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is the epitome
of gender inequality.

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Women from the poorer background

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and vulnerable background
cannot choose.

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They don\'t have the access
to self-protection.

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But middle-class women
usually have the same access

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to education and jobs
to the men.

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They have options.

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They can choose.

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And for example,
I choose not to get married,

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and I declare outwardly
that I will never get married

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unless the marriage law
is revised

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according to gender equality.

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Bradshaw: In Desa KalibuayaÑ
Crocodile River VillageÑ

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some vulnerable women
are making a stand.

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What they\'re against:
not so much overt discrimination

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but the language of the law,

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which confirms
gender stereotypes,

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like women as housewives.

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This was a role Aisyah
happily accepted

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until things changed.

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- [speaking foreign language]

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female translator: I was working
in a clothing factory

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since 1991,
for ten years.

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Then I got married
when I was 26.

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I stopped working immediately.

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My reason
for leaving the factory

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was because my husband
asked me not to work,

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because people say the husband
is the head of the family,

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so everything is to be provided
by the husband.

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So the wife only takes care
of the kitchen,

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the well, and the mattress.

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But then my husband left me
because he wasn\'t working.

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He was made redundant.

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Bradshaw: Left alone,
Aisyah also found herself left

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in legal limbo.

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She\'s come to an organization
called PEKKA for advice,

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what to do now she\'s a housewife
in a household with no head.

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- [speaking foreign language]

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translator: I want to ask you
about my problem.

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My husband left me,
so I want a solution from you,

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your opinion on what I do now.

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Bradshaw:
She\'s told about the law

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and the paperwork.

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- Do you have
the wedding certificate?

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You need to bring in
the wedding certificate...

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and your husband\'s
current address,

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also your ID card,
your village household card,

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and a note from the village.

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But if you don\'t have them,
it\'s okay...for now.

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Bradshaw: PEKKA, the
Women-Headed Household Program,

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are no militant feminists.

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They know Indonesia
has ratified conventions

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against discrimination,

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and even the marriage law
insists on

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joint parenting responsibility.

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So their language is quiet
but insistent.

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- Actually,
there is discrimination,

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insofar as I understand
the marriage laws.

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There it is mentioned
that the man

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is the head of the household,

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even though there are many women
who are head of the household,

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because in the law,

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women are only mentioned
as housewives.

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Bradshaw:
As elsewhere in the world,

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discriminatory laws
are underwritten

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by social prejudice,

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including
against separated women.

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- It wasn\'t a problem
for my neighbors.

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Perhaps that\'s because
my parents

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are well-respected around here.

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But other people
who didn\'t know us so well

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ridiculed me.

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They would say,
\"There\'s the divorcŽe.\"

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Where\'s the divorcŽe going?\"

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There\'s always something
like that.

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Bradshaw: Most days Aisyah
now puts on her work clothes,

00:14:52.767 --> 00:14:55.767
earning her way gathering rice.

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And she and her new friends
have also acquired

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less traditional female skills.

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They\'ve trained as filmmakers.

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Their videos capture the stories
of other traumatized women

00:15:15.267 --> 00:15:18.100
bewildered by the law.

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- The benefit
of the community video training

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is that I can show people cases
from the community

00:15:28.634 --> 00:15:30.868
so their eyes are opened
to the law,

00:15:30.901 --> 00:15:34.133
so they\'re aware of the law.

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Bradshaw: This story:
a woman who\'s been married

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more than once
and divorced more than once.

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Lost in a tangle of civil codes,
Islamic law, and custom,

00:15:48.133 --> 00:15:53.968
she has no papers at all
for herself or for her children.

00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.300
- My child says,
\"Mama, other children

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have a birth certificate.\"

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I can only cry.

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My child cries too because he
wants to be like other children.

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Their fathers are irresponsible,
especially for Gunawan.

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His father isn\'t around.
He\'s dead.

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To whom can I complain?

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To whom can I report this?

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Current father?
The stepfather?

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Never mind his stepchildren.

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He doesn\'t even take care of

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his own children\'s
birth certificates.

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Bradshaw: There are moves

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to help harassed women
in Indonesia.

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There\'s a government campaign

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to persuade men
to share in household tasks.

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But the stories PEKKA\'s filmed
show what can happen

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when the law sides
with the husband.

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For novelist Ayu,

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stories like these
show justice is rigged by men.

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- Here, again,
we see that the law

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confirm the traditional values,

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that the husband
is the head of the family.

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The law denies the woman\'s
contribution to economic life.

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Whatever some women supply
to the family economy,

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she is, according to the law,

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subordinate to her husband
in decision-making.

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Bradshaw: With a new government
in Jakarta,

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you might think
it\'s the right time

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to campaign
against the marriage law.

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As an M.P.,
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana

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argued for women\'s rights
from inside the system.

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Now she\'s back working
as a legal aid lawyer.

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In principle,
she\'s on Ayu\'s side.

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- Ayu Utami, for me, is a symbol
of freedom for women.

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Yeah, she can do
anything she like.

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Yeah...everything.

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Bradshaw:
But against a background

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of rising
Islamic fundamentalism,

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even this human rights stalwart
has her doubts

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it\'s the right moment
for women to act.

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- I don\'t think that now
is the right thing

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to do reform
of our marriage law,

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because the political situation,

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both in Parliament
and in the society in general,

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is not conducive to do that.

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Yeah.

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And even we discuss
about the abolishment

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of the article of polygamy,

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we were accused
as anti-religion, anti-Islam.

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Yeah, it\'s a danger when
the government do not manage

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to control the hard-liner,

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and also there
Islamic militia, yeah?

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Who can destroy and attack us

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as the human rights activists.

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Bradshaw: Back in Delhi,
Ritu\'s checking out

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some more Indian footage
for her report.

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It\'s all making her
a little uncomfortable.

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- A daughter has to get married
and leave home.

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- 75% of women are not capable
of managing a business.

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- In a family
where there are no sons,

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daughters are not valued

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because a daughter
will get married and leave home.

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Bradshaw: But there are also
stories of women valued.

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Ten-year-old Kavita is already
learning her dad\'s trade.

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It\'ll mean spare cash
to help her train as a doctor.

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Sumalatha collects coconut milk.

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Girls are supposed to fall off.

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Suhag Khemlani doesn\'t need
a ladder to climb her way up.

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She\'s already close to the top
of her family tree.

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- When I got out of college,
when I graduated,

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Dad had convinced me

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that I would give Technoclean
a six-month trial.

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And that was it.
I just never left.

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There was no difference
that was made

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between my brother and me
being brought up.

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For the first few years,
I did have a problem,

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but I don\'t think
that had much to do

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with me being a woman.

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It had more to do
with me being 21,

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or I\'d like to believe that.

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Anyone who\'s going to love me
and marry me is going to know

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that a very big part
of what I am is my work.

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I think I can do a better job

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than a lot of men I know
in this industry.

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Bradshaw: The role model
Ritu\'s off to film today:

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Shanoo.

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Shanoo\'s a widow who supports
three kids and her in-laws.

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She\'s broken
into the male preserve

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of radio taxis.

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- So how do you feel now?

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- It feels great.

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When a man is driving
in front of me,

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he will point and say,

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\"Wow, see,
a woman is driving that car.\"

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It feels great.

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I am able to do great things
without being a man.

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I have already decided,
when my daughter turns 18,

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I will make her
a driver as well.

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Bradshaw: Just 19 women,
Ritu learns,

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are learning to break through
this silk ceiling.

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But it\'s early days.

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And it\'s not just driving
they learn

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but self-defense
and language skillsÑ

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empowerment through employment.

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- I actually believe

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that the girls who come to us

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have been through
such adversity.

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They have been throughÑ

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struggled through so many
difficult circumstances

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completely on their own.

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They have given thisÑ
they haveÑ

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you know, literally,
they have been through fire

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already in their lives,
so there isÑ

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I mean, they are much stronger
than what we think them to be,

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and, actually, I believe
that it is that strength

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that helps us to move on

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and to break
the gender stereotypes

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and to break the boundaries
within which women work.

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Bradshaw:
Back in the office,

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Ritu\'s widening her report out.

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Time for the big picture.

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She\'s had stories
from India and from Indonesia,

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some encouraging,
others reminding her

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that India\'s neighbors
can be further behind

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than many imagine.

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- If you look at
the empowerment of women

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in terms of political rights,

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we always think
that the Middle East

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must be way behind Asia,

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because we see
some very important

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and prominent
political leaders in Asia.

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We have seen presidents
and prime ministers being women.

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But actually, if you look at
the real political empowerment,

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Asia is doing no better
than the Middle East.

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It\'s almost the same.

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So we always think of Asia
being ahead on political rights,

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but actually, it\'s not the case.

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Bradshaw: In India,
the Panchayati Raj system

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has empowered
hundreds of thousands of women.

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But Ritu reckons
more needs to be done.

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She\'s off to see a woman

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who has broken through
the silk ceiling

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and is helping to plan
India\'s future.

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- See, the most important thing
is that representation of women.

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Traditionally, we have had
the Panchayati Raj,

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which has made
over a million women

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become immediately
into the Panchayats,

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so politically,
that has actually happened,

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but the next step is
to get women

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into the state assemblies
and the parliament,

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so you have women in the
most important decision-making.

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- Women in India have
lesser property rights.

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So what government is doing
to ensureÑ

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to increase the property rights
of women in India?

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- The state is very conscious
of the fact

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that real power
will not devolve to women

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unless the woman becomes
an owner of her property.

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And this is being
in every government scheme.

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If the woman has the patta,

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or the title is in the name
of the woman,

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there are certain concessions.

00:24:16.367 --> 00:24:17.767
Bradshaw: Novelist Ayu says

00:24:17.801 --> 00:24:20.100
it\'s about more
than helping women to prosper

00:24:20.133 --> 00:24:22.200
in the material world.

00:24:22.234 --> 00:24:24.934
- The question is not
what women should get.

00:24:24.968 --> 00:24:28.534
The real question is what
the whole society should get.

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It should get
a gender-equality education

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that will lead us
to a gender-equal society

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where men and women work
hand in hand

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in private and in public,

00:24:39.634 --> 00:24:42.601
in good times
and in bad times.

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And to reach there, I shouldÑ

00:24:44.634 --> 00:24:48.434
and everybody who dreams
for a gender-equality societyÑ

00:24:48.467 --> 00:24:52.267
should jump in and try to win
the contestation of values

00:24:52.300 --> 00:24:56.801
that has been there in Indonesia
for hundreds of years.

00:25:01.868 --> 00:25:04.300
Bradshaw: And for a final word
for her report...

00:25:04.334 --> 00:25:05.501
- Yeah?

00:25:05.534 --> 00:25:07.567
Bradshaw: Who better
than Ritu herself,

00:25:07.601 --> 00:25:10.834
a small-town girl
from a modest background

00:25:10.868 --> 00:25:13.200
who is breaking through
the silk ceiling?

00:25:13.234 --> 00:25:15.734
- One more?
Yeah.

00:25:15.767 --> 00:25:17.901
translator: When men and women
are considered equal,

00:25:17.934 --> 00:25:19.834
then the economy
runs efficiently

00:25:19.868 --> 00:25:21.567
and every individual can work

00:25:21.601 --> 00:25:23.467
for the development
of the country.

00:25:23.501 --> 00:25:25.968
It is therefore important
that India should work

00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:28.000
to improve
the condition of women.

00:25:28.033 --> 00:25:30.634
The difference between men
and women needs to be removed.

00:25:30.667 --> 00:25:32.601
The work that is being done
in this area

00:25:32.634 --> 00:25:34.033
needs to be speeded up,

00:25:34.067 --> 00:25:36.901
and there is a greater need for
intervention at a policy level.

00:25:36.934 --> 00:25:40.834
This is Ritu Bhardawaj reporting
on India\'s silk ceiling.