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Mother and Daughter on the Run

Swara is a fairly common practice in the northern areas of Pakistan. It consists of giving a very young daughter away to a much older man to settle a blood feud between families or tribes. They are immediately married.

"Dukhtar", written, directed and produced by Afia Nathaniel, tells the story of Zainab (Saleha Aref), a 10-year-old girl who has been promised to the head of a local tribe. Her mother, Allah Rakhi (Samiya Mumtaz) is already in a similar marriage and she is miserable. She was unable to escape Swara, but she is determined that her daughter will not suffer the same fate.

Mother and daughter escape, with the man who was promised the young child in angry pursuit. They hide inside a truck driven by an unsuspecting young man. When he discovers them, he wants them out, because he realizes that if he gets caught harboring them, he will be put to death. Yet, he hides the ladies and he becomes part of their lives forever.

Allah Rakhi leads them to Lahore, where she was born, and where her mother still lives. She hasn't seen her mother since she was sent off to live with her older husband. The quest for their reunion is imperiled by the people chasing them, but the central point of it all is the journey, more so than the arrival at the final destination. Their trip shows off the stark, yet beautiful land around them. It's barren and ugly at some points, but in others it is resplendent in beauty. Once they arrive in Lahore, the gorgeous colors of the carnival atmosphere in the streets is breathtaking, but trouble is still near.

"Dukhtar" delivers on a few different levels. It has the necessary tension, fine acting performances by everyone, and a unique look behind the scenes of a culture that we know primarily as a place where war appears to be endless. Mostly it is about the love between a mother and daughter and that's a universal that everyone can understand and identify with.