2022 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Our film begins with the start of any doctor’s career: the white coat ceremony, a ritual in every medical school featuring the Hippocrates Oath. We took the oath a step forward, modifying the words repeated as the voice of the society. While the doctor repeats the words, “I, as a doctor, will dedicate my life to serve humanity, my patients’ health will be my priority” we hear society’s version of the oath in the mother-in-law’s voice, “She, as a doctor daughter in law will dedicate her life to her kitchen. Her utmost priority will be what she cooks everyday”. After this hard-hitting contrast, we eventually showcased the transformation of the mother-in-law in the same film.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Pakistan has a peculiar phenomenon: the "Dr.Daughter-in-law." The phrase applies to the 77% of all Pakistani female medical graduates who never go on to practice medicine simply because they are not allowed to by their husband's family. Once we had identified this insight, we decided to take it head-on. Our idea was centered around the oath that every medical practitioner takes when they graduate. We matched this sacred oath to the oath most mothers-in-law take in the country currently: to not allow their daughters-in-law to practice medicine. The oath highlighted the stark contrast: as the doctor pledges to serve humanity, society wants her to serve the kitchen. Launched under the hashtag #OathForHer, our campaign asked every mother-in-law in the country to change their stance and support their daughters-in-law who want to practice medicine.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your work

Pakistan is a highly conservative where even today marriages are arranged by parents, especially mothers, who often desire for their sons to marry a woman with a prestigious educational background. And yet, only 1 in 4 of these female married doctors are allowed to practice medicine by their families. Instead, they are expected to look after children and cook for their families. There has been plenty of press coverage raising an alarm on this: the BBC ran a report titled, “Are Pakistan’s female medical students to be doctors or wives?” This phenomenon of the "Dr.Daughter-in-law" has put a severe strain on Pakistan's health infrastructure, especially when it comes to gender disparity. Women will often refuse to meet male doctors for reasons of modesty, and there are not enough female doctors to cater to the large Pakistani female population.