Women's Day Special: Selvi's story is making changes in the villages of India

Driving with Selvi Bus Tour aims at bringing change in the ground level.

Tina Das
मार्च 08, 2018

Deputy High Commissioner of Canada in India, Soyoung Park shared the story of her 98-year-old grandmother who was widowed during the Korean War of 1953. She raised three children and immigrated to Canada. She doesn't think she has done much, but as Soyoung mentioned, we often don't realise how the women around us influence us without even knowing.

Soyoung Park, Deputy High Commissioner of Canada in India. Source Facebook.

And that's what the documentary Driving with Selvi does to you--it makes you recall the countless women who have influenced you and made you stronger, made a difference. And if the film has managed to convey that sense of bonding, it is because of the bond between the film's director Elisa Paloschi and the film's protagonist, Selvi. The film captures a decade of Selvi's life, who had run away from her abusive child marriage to become south India’s first woman driver.

The High Commission of Canada and Eyesfull organized a screening of Driving with Selvi on December 8, 2017 at Hotel Samrat, Delhi.

A still from Driving with Selvi.

In the answer to the question in the Q&A round, Elissa talked about how did it all start, Elissa mentioned how she had initially come to India as a tourist.Canadian filmmaker Elisa Paloschi first met Selvi in the year 2004 when she was at Mysuru. She was volunteering at Odanaadi (in Karnataka), a women's shelter, and Selvi was living there at the time.

The filmmaker, who says she hadn't made a film in years, was inspired enough by Selvi's journey to follow her story for a decade and make the film.It has been a journey fof almost 15 years. And Selvi broke down when she said aloud that Elissa has been a major part of her life, like a sister. She has shared that many years of her life with her, and now that the film and the programme is ending, she odoesn't know how to be anymore.

Driving with Selvi has been screened all over the world and has also been used in gender sensitization programs to open up conversations on the subject. As part of the film's campaign to create awareness about child marriage and gender violence, it has been screened in various communities and colleges, too, including in India. Each and every place that they have managed to screen the film at, especially in villages, Selvi has become an inspiration.

Selvi went through an abusive child marriage. Source Twitter.

In fact, the outreach programme even held special screenings for men and boys, between ages of 13-45, to sensitize them about gender inequality. Selvi, who cannot speak Hindi, managed to help inspire change in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, where most girls are married off before the age of 18.

The film, having the ability to inspire and initiate dialogue and create awareness about eliminating violence against women, has been screened at over 100 international film festivals. Selvi has travelled with the film to over 15 cities abroad, including Canada and the USA. There is a 'Driving with Selvi Bus Tour' as well, where Selvi interacst with girls in rural areas, on the brink of becoming child brides like Selvi.