Penn grads screen their documentaries on the treatment of women

At first glance, sex slavery in Penn’s backyard and empowerment of women in Bangladesh don’t seem to be related.

However, Tuesday night at an event co-hosted by the Penn Women’s Center and the Civic House, two documentaries linked the issues. The directors, Penn graduates Jean Lee and Lauren Hansen-Flaschen, showed that the country needs to take a fresh look at the treatment of women in society.

Lee’s film not only explored human trafficking internationally, but also revealed that it exists nearby in Kensington, Philadelphia.

But for those interested in creating similar projects of a potentially dangerous nature, Lee stressed caution when entering less secure neighborhoods.

“The first night [I filmed], there was a shooting a block away,” she said. “I got in a few sticky situations when girls saw they were getting filmed and went to go get their pimps.”

Hansen-Flaschen’s documentary — which is still in the works — told the slightly different story of a Bangladesh community development group called Uttaran. The group addresses issues ranging from education to micro-finance loans for women.

The final film will show the growth of the organization, Hansen-Flaschen said, from its foundation 15 years ago to what it is today.

The clips, which were shown last night, already demonstrate that Uttaran has branched out substantially. Its involvement in the community has made a great impact by empowering women to earn their own income, according to Hansen-Flaschen.

“I always thought you had to focus and really get to intimately know one issue to make a change,” she said. “But [Uttaran] taught me you can keep going on multiple levels to help people.”

At the end of their presentation, the two women shared advice about obtaining funding for similar projects. They both advised audience members to begin working on a project while still in school because that is the easiest time to get financial support.

However, Hansen-Flaschen also added that it is still possible to raise money through outside fundraising from friends and family.

According to Teesha Dunn, a master’s student in the Graduate School of Education, the event exposed her to issues she wouldn’t have otherwise known about.

Xi Luo, a GSE master’s student and audience member commented that the film’s “focus on international aid and development just shows what you can do as a woman scholar.”

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