Bitter pill to swallow!

Aftershock (2022)
Director, Producer: Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis

In the 70s, active labour management was the craze in the Obstetrics circle, especially amongst the countries that looked at the UK as their point of reference. This kind of treatment was first tried out at the Royal Dublin Hospital, promising short labours, lower caesarean section rates and safer outcomes. It soon became the golden standard of managing parturient mothers in most labour rooms.

There had been debates on whether Dublin's figures and definition of labour were only agreeable to some. Many argued that the system tends to over-medicalise something quite natural that people have been doing for aeons. Medical intervention tends to involve surgical intervention, it is alleged. Unfortunately, with eyes constantly scrutinising for clues to stir dirt when a medical outcome is not to their liking, medical practitioners tend to practice defensive medicine. Better be safe than be bogged by handling complications, a battery of legal suits and the threat of being struck off the register.

An often overlooked and unmentioned fact about Dublin's 'active management' is that mothers had a named midwife with them, i.e. a midwife who sees her during pregnancy and through her labour. Labouring mothers are at ease with a familiar face besides their partner. It is said to allay anxiety and generally gives a feeling of achievement. This is why many opt, in the West, at least, for homebirths or at birthing centres.

This documentary is about two maternal deaths which occurred within a short span of time within a locality. In October 2019, a 30-year-old, Shamony Gibson, died two weeks after her delivery of pulmonary embolism. The family allege that her initial symptom of breathlessness during pregnancy and after delivery was trivialised. In the second case, in April 2020, Amber Rose Isaac had to be induced for worsening liver functions and low platelet (HELLP syndrome). She had to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section. Unfortunately, she died on the operating table with extensive haemorrhage. The family was unhappy that the staff were late detecting her medical condition.

One might say it is a medical misadventure. In this time and age, people unfortunately still die during childbirth. Somehow, the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement needled its head to push for the family to rally to demand justice. They find a disproportionately high number of Black women are failed by the US maternal system. After infiltrating every nook of society, the BLM movement and their leftist friend have something else to stir true.

The widowers of Gibson and Rose Isaac form a strong bond and rally to highlight their plight through rallies. They seek systemic change in the medical system and legislation to ensure proper care.

[PS. One thing often overlooked is that the population is marred with the problem of obesity. Obesity carries high morbidity in any medical condition or intervention. Pregnancy, when the body is in a hypercoagulable state, brings forth even more danger. No medical practitioner worth his salt will ever talk about this to a plus-sized patient for fear of being accused of body shaming.]

[PSS. As medical services become more expensive, compounded by the fear-mongering drive of the pharmaceutical and allied industries. In this increasingly litigious climate, when over-investigation is necessary, medical services are at risk of being exclusive to the rich. The WHO's cry for primary medical attention as a human right remains, at best, can be only given at the bare minimum. Restricting expensive treatment to the deservingly ill but can ill afford is the bitter pill to swallow. Sadly the patients who need the therapy most are those not financially able to pay. The bow has to break somewhere]

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A cruel unabashed bashing.

Biriyani, Flavours of Flesh (Malayalam, 2021)

Story & Direction: Sajin Baabu

At the outset, it must be mentioned that this film is not for the faint-hearted or squirm at the sight of animal slaughter or of plain view of a surgical operating field. The scenes, however, are essential to driving home the message embedded behind the story. As the title suggests, the selling point of a biriyani dish is the flavour derived from the juices of the meat (flesh). Vegetarian biriyani is no biriyani at all. This kind of movie is not suitable for family viewing as some scenes are obviously of adult content.

Biriyani is quintessentially a Muslim dish popularised by the invading Muslim marauders. Some say it originated from Persia. The cooks found a novel way to feed a large army - slow cook meat, rice, vegetables and spices buried in the hot desert sands. 

In the 7th century, when Islam was revealed to Beduin herders, the religion boasted of features way ahead of its time. Putting an end to female infanticide, the liberation of slaves and empowerment of women were considered revolutionary. Somewhere along the way, the rest of the world thinks that they had lost the plot. What gave? Its practitioners tend to imagine that it is patriarchal and discriminatory against its female members and put them behind as second-class citizens. At least, this is the message that the movie seems to convey.

The flesh that the title alludes to is the flesh that Man cannot live without. It refers to the pleasures of the flesh that Man would die for. The piece of flesh that an adolescent boy loses reinforces his entry into the toxic male-dominated society. 

The story starts with Khateeja, who is stuck in a loveless marriage. She views herself just as a piece of vessel for her husband release of carnal desires. That is all. She holds no say in the extended family (her husband's family). Her mother-in-law hates her and already has plans for her son's re-marriage, even though they have an adolescent son.  

Khateeja is summoned to her mother's home to attend to her mother, who, according to the caretaker, is becoming increasingly difficult to handle. Khateeja's mother is down with depression after her fisherman husband went missing at sea and her son, who went to the Middle East, never contacted her. It is soon realised that Khateeja's brother is involved in Islamic militant activities and is hunted down by the police. Things become bad afterwards. The mother is ostracised, ousted from her home and is excommunicated from the local Muslim community for bringing shame to the fold. Khateeja's mother-in-law uses that opportunity to persuade her son to send Khateeja a triple talaq text message. With the hit of the 'send' button, Khateeja loses everything: her son, husband, belongings, and self-respect. Furthermore, she and her mother have to endure constant harassment and sexual advances from the police. 

Khateeja and her mother later end up finding a safe place in a madrasah in Tamil Nadu. Even though the place was divine-sanctioned and all, many unsavoury things were happening under everybody's nose. Asylum seekers were working part-time as call girls. She becomes friendly with a timid but kind imam. Long story short, Khateeja joins the flesh business, ends up pregnant, has a miscarriage, and for the last hurrah, she gets back at all the people that wronged her one way or another throughout her life in her own cruel and disgusting way.

Interspersed through the film are TV talk show snippets of politicians and social workers dissecting the problems plaguing the Muslim community in India and suggesting solutions to repair their image and probably fit back into India's plural society. For example, they pinpoint the lack of educational opportunities for girls and their early marriage as needing mending. Yet, they actually have the capacity and self-confidence to do things independently, as shown by many of the characters. It is just that the social mores expect them to play second fiddle to the preset hierarchical order.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.