Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy wishes to draw attention to a critical issue in our society. When it comes to child support following a divorce, some men get away with shifting the financial burden onto single mothers rather than performing their obligation.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker intends to effect change by producing documentaries that reveal weaknesses in our system and tell the heartbreaking experiences of single mothers who are left to bear it all alone.Â
Obaid-Chinoy discussed the topic in a series of Instagram stories on Saturday. “Child support rules in Pakistan need to be amended.
“The courts should be empowered to conduct financial audits of fathers who refuse to pay child support and leave moms to fend for themselves,” she said. “I will work with politicians to strengthen our legislation so that no mother has to urge a father to fulfill his duty to his children.”
She stated that she has directly spoken with ladies who are struggling as a result of this. “I just heard a heartbreaking story about a single woman fighting to raise her daughter this morning. Her ex-husband threatens her every time she requests financial assistance. We have to make sure that no mother ever has to worry about her child’s fundamental requirements…” she explained.
The filmmaker has all of the preliminary steps planned out. “We will begin by making a series of films that highlight system problems and tell the heartbreaking stories of mothers whose husbands can afford to support their children but do not,” she said.
She ended by telling her audience that we are all tied to women whose stories haunt us. “We must try to ensure that no other woman has to go through this,” she said.
More power to Obaid-Chinoy for raising such an important subject.