Because We Are Girls follows Salakshana, Kira and Jeeti Pooni as they come to terms with a devasting secret twenty-five years in the making: they were sexually abused by the same older relative throughout their childhood years.On a bitterly cold winter morning in Williams Lake, B.C., three sisters – Salakshana, Jeeti, and Kira Pooni – arrive at the courthouse.
Nearly three decades since that time, the sisters are still seeking justice against their abuser and to repair the parts of their lives that remain fractured. And so from the opening scenes of Baljit Sangra’s new film, viewers accompany the women on this uncertain journey as they negotiate unfamiliar grounds, from hostile courtrooms to difficult conversations with their children about the enduring trauma from abuse.
As girls, the sisters were silenced. As women they have sought to be heard, pushing back against resistance from family, the authorities, and cultural conditioning in coming forward to expose their abuser. Each small victory has bolstered hope and reinforced their confidence. In the visceral climax to the film, the sisters confront their mother and father about their perceived sense of “shame” and how they feel suffocated by its heaviness whenever they are in a room with their parents.
The Vancouver-based Sangra was the creative force behind the new doc. For her, the story of the Pooni sisters is a pivotal #MeToo moment for Canada’s South Asian community.The Vancouver-based Sangra was the creative force behind the new doc. For her, the story of the Pooni sisters is a pivotal #MeToo moment for Canada’s South Asian community. “This was a very empowering journey for me.