Insia Dariwala, Award-winning international filmmaker, Child rights activist & TEDx speaker

Today on our show, we have an award-winning filmmaker, TEDx Speaker, child rights activist, and one of the 100 most inspiring women in India, Insia Dariwala in conversation with our host Ashutosh Garg. Insia talks to us about the three milestones in her life and profession. Her first documentary on child sexual abuse came out in 2009, her second documentary, also on sexual abuse paved the way for her NGO which helps survivors by giving them counseling, filing complaint to the police station, and so on. Insia talks to us about how her initiatives have helped in the acknowledgment of male child sexual abuse by the government of India. Insia has been a storyteller from a very young age and she tells us the challenges faced by documentary filmmakers due to the sensitivity of the issues they talk about. Did you know that more than 32,000 cases of child sexual abuse are reported every year in India, more than 52% of children in India are sexually abused? These drastic numbers are usually sidelined and forgotten and never talked about usually because family honor is involved since most abusers are from the trusted circles of the child’s family. Insia shares very important information on how one can recognize the signs if one’s child is suffering from the same thing: sudden bed wetting, nightmares, being afraid of a certain individual, refusal to go to school, discomfort at touching them, these all account for concern and should be looked at by the parents. Insia tells us what can be done by the parents of the children who are going through this trauma, she shares how counseling both the child and parent is absolutely necessary, she also talks to us about how Indians are still in denial to acknowledge male child sexual abuse and tells us the role of government in preventing them. Tune in to listen about the incredible work Insia is doing!