Original subtitles

Jamilia was an open-minded, sincere and clever girl.

She's been kidnapped and married to a man she didn't love.

Her husband goes to war,

and she falls in love with Daniar.

She's happy with him.

Well, this is the end of the story.

She elopes with Daniar.

This is a girl who fights for love.

She was a young Kyrgyz who had willpower.

We like her so much.

She has chosen her life.

She has found love.

In women's opinion, she made the right choice.

In Kyrgyzstan, all women support her.

Choosing a husband is not easy.

If girls would get married to men they loved,

they'd be happy.

A Kyrgyz girl would be constantly quiet.

She would never unveil her feelings.

I don't know if it has changed today.

Girls have to accept when a man proposes to them,

even if they love another man.

It's in the Kyrgyz blood.

A girl cannot speak out when it comes to love.

She has to try with a man who loves her, maybe she'll like him too.

How did it go for you, Grandma?

A girl can be kidnapped.

She'll be in a state of shock. Her family won't know it happened.

Once settled in her new home,

the father and the mother may dislike her.

She may dislike her husband.

That's why there are so many divorces.

I've been kidnapped.

A man kidnapped me.

I barely knew him.

She married my younger brother.

The groom's parents get ready,

and tell their son to kidnap the girl.

Sometimes, they met before.

But if they didn't meet and if the boy likes her,

he's still allowed to kidnap the girl.

If he likes her, it's okay,

even if she disagrees.

He doesn't ask for his opinion. He just kidnaps her.

We could fill a whole book with our regrets.

I got divorced 15 years ago.

Jamilia encouraged women to be determined.

At that time, we'd say:

"A woman is like a stone: she falls and sticks to the ground."

Tchinguiz Aïtmatov encouraged Kyrgyz women

to be determined.

That's what I think.

He meant we must not always respect traditions.

Jamilia obeyed love.

"Jamilia sat in the shade of the bales of straw,

"and, as if afraid of being alone, she'd call to me.

"I always expected her to tell me something important,

"perhaps explaining what it was that troubled her.

"But she did not.

"Silently laying my head in her lap, she gazed into the distance,

"ruffling my bristly hair

"and gently stroking my face

"with trembling, hot fingers.

"I would look up at her, at her face so full of vague anxiety and yearning.

"Something was gathering and maturing in her soul, seeking an outlet.

"And she was plainly frightened by it.

"After all, she was my family's daughter-in-law,

"my brother's wife."

My name is Nurzat.

I'm 37 years old.

I work as a laboratory operator at the hospital.

I'm in charge of the laboratory.

I have 3 children.

I'm married.

My husband doesn't work.

I picture Jamilia as a dark-haired girl,

beautiful,

thin,

with long hair.

I also think she was stupid

because she didn't think before acting,

when she eloped with Daniar.

If she'd thought twice,

she'd have waited for her husband.

One has to think.

When a husband didn't come back from war,

we'd wait for the death notice.

After a year mourning, you could remarry.

She'd have been remarried to her husband's younger brother.

Leaving was the wrong thing to do.

She shouldn't have expressed her love, even though it was intense.

I could not do that.

My mother-in-law has been very hard on me.

I prayed for not giving birth to a girl.

Life is very hard on girls.

In this house, I lost peace.

I wished I had only boys.

Life is easy for boys.

They go out, then in, then sleep!

I am proud I had three sons.

At Jamilia's time, women were free.

When Jamilia was out in the fields,

thrashing wheat,

she thought about Daniar, she removed her scarf,

she put it around her neck and then ran away.

We weren't that free.

When we wanted some rest,

we'd take two buckets, we'd go to the spring,

and we'd sit there.

Back home, our kids were crying.

Our mother-in-law would order us to do chores.

That's why we'd go to the spring.

We'd pay a visit to our parents every three months.

We'd cry, then go home.

Jamilia's times were freer.

There were hard times though.

Now, it's a bit better.

Young wives go wherever they want, dress as they want.

Tolkunbek!

Boil some water, my son.

I suffered more than Jamilia.

Could I be Jamilia?

I felt closer to her

when I was 23, when I got married.

Today, I'm 30,

and I know that...

that love is...

that one needs love to live.

I was offered many potential husbands.

I could close my eyes and get married,

but I can't.

I reject proposals every day.

I actually just met someone.

But I turned him away and I came to see you.

I cannot say

I fully support Jamilia.

She did the right thing for herself,

but not for others.

He was five years older than me and came from Turkey.

He was handsome, and had an inner beauty too.

I thought so intensely about him that it was painful.

I missed him every minute.

He asked me to help him because he couldn't speak Russian.

I started helping him out.

When I got in 3rd year I knew I was in love.

He felt the same.

Until my graduation, we gave it a lot of thoughts.

How would we manage?

I cried every day.

Why was this happening to me?

I was in love with the wrong guy. Why?

He was a Muslim, but for my parents,

it was impossible to let me live that faraway,

in a country they'd never know.

I cried when I thought about it.

And I was even more in love with this man.

I even told my mom I had fallen in love with him.

My mom didn't agree.

She'd never let me marry Murat.

I wanted to elope with Murat, like Jamilia did.

But my mom was crying.

I couldn't turn away from my relatives.

I let him go.

I still work at the same place.

If he comes back, he'll find me.

My parents married me to a schoolmate.

I was not in love with him, I didn't even like him.

I did everything I could to protect my family.

But this man didn't love me either.

He had married me under his parents' pressure.

I'm from a decent family. I'm well-taught, beautiful, clever.

We just didn't love each other.

We had a dull family life.

We eventually got divorced.

When I call my parents,

they ask news from me.

If I met someone, if I'm about to be married.

They interfere into my emotions, into my intimate life.

Sometimes, I'd simply like

to be like other young women:

to close my eyes and get married.

I'd like to be able to marry someone I don't love.

But I can't.

When I think about Murat,

I remember his love, his words, his eyes.

I remember everything.

I know I have to live and get married.

But in order to do so, I need to feel a flame.

I came to understand that I...

I couldn't live without love.

Dearest Mom,

you are the one who takes care of me

May I stay very healthy

May you stay healthy too

I'm already a mother,

but I will always be your child

You sigh and you ache

when I turn away from you

You are my talisman

If I make mistakes you show me the right path

Even if you don't hear from me for 40 years,

you'll never forget me, you'll be in pain all your life

Every night, we embraced the stars,

we talked, we breathed, we got away.

We had sweet dreams.

Every night, we embraced the stars,

we talked, we breathed, we got away.

We made promises until dawn.

Love, like the ocean,

love, like the waves,

launches to the shore.

I figured things out very early.

I was a good student, delegate of my class, I went to college.

I had great dreams for my future.

Democracy shattered them all.

When USSR collapsed,

we had other plans.

We didn't understand democracy.

We didn't know how to lead our lives anymore.

We found ourselves unemployed.

Teachers' pays were cut off.

Some people started a business. Others went to Russia.

Before, we thought of our career, of the positions we'd get.

The government had a good social policy.

They helped young people to find housing.

There were day nurseries for children.

All of it has been cut off.

Day nurseries closed their doors.

During this transition time, I was completing a college degree.

I liked reading classics like Jamilia,

or The Cranes Fly Early, with Myrsagul and Suitamurat.

I discovered when I was very young how it felt to be in love.

I kept this feeling within myself for years.

When my husband kidnapped me, I was very angry.

I have been kidnapped too, like other girls.

I barely knew the man.

I had just started to work.

I met my current husband later,

we were colleagues.

He was married and had children.

He fell in love with me.

I fell for him too.

I realized he was my man.

I listened neither to my first husband,

nor to my brother-in-law, my mother-in-law, or my parents.

I left everything and ran away with him.

I look sweet,

but my temper is closer to a man's.

I could only live with the one I loved.

So I embraced all the difficulties.

My parents threatened to disown me.

They said I wouldn't be welcome at their funerals.

I kept on living in spite of all this.

I did not give up.

I stood up against everyone.

If she was the Jamilia in the time of war,

I am the Jamilia in the time of democracy!

My father was a writer.

He owned many books.

I'd read them all.

We'd wait for him to bring books at home,

and to finish reading them.

I have an older sister.

She'd read first.

I had to be patient!

I was a fast reader.

I couldn't do anything else until the book was over.

I wanted to know how the stories ended.

I'd identify with the hero,

and I'd fly through the whole book.

I admire Jamilia's resolution

and her respect for her own feelings.

I couldn't be like her though.

If I were Jamilia,

I'd fear Allah.

By the time of Jamilia,

religion was not as important as it is today.

I asked many questions on the Internet

to know if Jamilia's actions could comply to religion.

People always answer me that Jamilia

is a great love story.

Today, we live in a democratic system.

You may be in love, or not,

or you may act religiously.

I write at night.

I get up early, and I write before the prayer.

If I could be on my own during two quiet days,

if I were to be alone in a room,

I'd fill so many notebooks.

I had told my mother I'd get married

when I'd pass the entrance exam to college.

When I started to study for it, I was told

I'd become a "black back", a spinster.

I passed it after three attempts.

I was lucky enough to graduate.

Then, I was married.

We're from the same village. I got married in my street.

There's a saying here:

"Decent girls marry in their street."

If men were sensible enough,

there'd be no Jamilias.

I do not blame her.

She had no other choice,

she's not a bad person.

But these situations could be avoided.

Nowadays, there are a lot of Jamilias.

They run away from their families,

but they're not real Jamilias.

They are superficial.

We had a meeting on this issue, arranged by the woman

in charge of the women neighborhood committee.

She invited a religious man.

She asked him:

"Why would you force girls to marry before they turn 17?"

He didn't know what to answer.

That's why there are more and more Jamilias.

My name is Zarifa.

I'll turn 55 this year.

I'm married, I have three sons. No daughter.

I'm an accountant.

I have worked all my life.

Jamilia listens to her feelings.

I don't blame her.

Aïtmatov meant that women are allowed

to follow their feelings and to be free.

That's what I think.

But she's a woman, she has to face problems.

When I think about this character, Jamilia,

it reminds me of my childhood.

When Jamilia runs across the fields,

when she walks along with her brother-in-law,

when she waits for her husband's letters,

when she takes care of her mother-in-law,

it is a great image of women.

Everyone has a personal opinion, but to me,

Jamilia did the right thing.

The girl is crying, she says she's become a guest

The fiancée has turned into a guest

In her daughter's place, the father will plant an almond tree

When you'll see its branches bend, think of your daughter

You, girl, this song is for you

You couldn't keep your secret, you became a liar

The fiancée became a liar

A stallion gallops over the hills, claiming the girl turned into a horse

The fiancée turned into a horse

In her new home, the girl cries

I'm a Russian teacher.

My name is Ranahon.

I have two kids.

I'm a simple woman.

Jamilia was strong.

It must have been tough for her, at the time.

They had not cut off with the past and not entered modernity yet.

That door was not closed, and this one was not open yet.

But she deployed inner strength.

How many years has it been since Jamilia has been published?

50, 60 years?

In spite of all these years,

there are still frameworks for us women.

Even if things have changed,

even if now we graduate and raise our kids,

these frameworks still lock us up.

Maybe I could not make the same decision she did.

Maybe I never felt such a strong love.

Jamilia was primarily strong-minded and true to herself.

These two features make me feel close to her.

That's why I feel affection for her.

Even if today, things are very different,

it's still true that

a mother's relationship to her daughter-in-law is hard.

It sometimes happens,

because you're a daughter-in-law and because you're young,

because you're a girl,

and she is a mother,

you cannot say a single word even when it's painful.

I know that, one day,

I'll become a mother-in-law.

My son will bring a daughter-in-law at home.

I wonder

if I'll be patient enough to put up with her tricks.

I try to live, to move on, to keep going.

You only live once.

Why would I lose my energy on such trivialities?

Jamilia was still a little girl.

She was married to a man she didn't even know.

She didn't have time to live with him.

She was just a child.

She had not loved enough, or had fun enough.

She had not enjoyed life.

So she listened to her heart.

She said: "I have always loved you."

Even if she'd met him only a few days ago!

This feeling was into her.

It grew up, she could set it free because she's so strong.

My step-father allowed me to work.

He said that if I stayed home,

I'd withdraw into myself.

"Go meet people! Live!"

It all depends on who surrounds you.

I don't agree with the idea

that a woman's life should be limited to her home.

There is religion, national traditions and family traditions.

It all primarily depends on family traditions.

When a family picks what's best in national and family traditions,

everything is fine.

I'm a teacher.

In my daughter's class,

out of 19 pupils,

there were 7 girls. 5 went to nurse school.

Most likely, none of them will ever work.

They may stay home.

But it's still better than nothing.

These girls will gain knowledge and pass it on to their children.

The children will benefit from it.

They won't grow up in the dark.

They'll get a good education.

They won't be limited to tradition and religion.

These girls will teach things they learnt outside.

I'm an optimistic person.

You need to hang up to every little thing.

If you're sensitive to outside influence you can break the frameworks.

If we refuse to teach this, or that, then we won't move on.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully she'll become an astronaut!

Hopefully she'll be president!

If a girl is strong and professional enough,

if she's useful,

we have to bring her full support.

I haven't talked like that for a while.

When someone understands you,

when you talk equal to equal,

it is such a bliss.

"If she had told me she wanted to leave me,

"I'd have followed her.

"I'm not Jamilia,

"but if she doesn't love you, why force her?

"I thought of killing Jamilia and Daniar.

"But if you're in love, why would you kill her?

"Pride matters more than love.

"But love does exist!"

I like everything in Jamilia.

This book needs to be studied.

My students don't tell their parents everything.

After my literature class,

they talk to me about their feelings.

Every year, we play an Aïtmatov scene on stage for the school play.

This year, after the party,

they brought the Jamilia and Daniar song to me.

"Summer is gone, here comes autumn, summer gently flows by

"I cannot express my love but you can feel it

"Jamilia, my beloved Jamilia,

"I sing for you with my dombra

"as if I were your Daniar"

I could introduce them to love.

Teenagers dream of loving one another.

Boys talk to me about their Jamilia.

But girls don't dare to talk about their Daniar.

I teach girls how to say

"I like it" and "I don't like it". "I want to" and "I don't want to".

They won't see themselves as heavy stones anymore.

They'll form their own opinion.

One of my students told me:

"I have a few proposals.

"Which one should I choose?"

I told her to talk to me about them.

"One of them is the son of a manager.

"He's the son of an important man.

"He's rich. So is the other."

Which one will permit you to study? And to work after you get married?

Dreams and thoughts gallop, they're not still.

They gallop like a horse.

Most women do not have this freedom.

If we go out,

we have to report on each step we take.

Especially now...

I'd like more freedom.

My schedule is sharp.

If I could come home from school a little later,

I could work for myself.

I'd like to come home when it suits me.

At home, my in-laws and my kids are waiting for me.

They take all my time.

Unfortunately, freedom... mostly depends on time.

"At the mill,

"a mighty throng of old willows rustled their leaves.

"On the other side of the river,

"the campfires of field workers were fading.

"The wind was heady with the fragrance of apples,

"the aroma of honeyed flowering corn

"and the warm smell of drying dung bricks.

"For a long while, Daniar let go and sang.

"The quiet August night was listening to him.

"Suddenly, on the most high-pitched, resonating note,

"Daniar interrupted his song and, with a hooting,

"set his horse up at a gallop.

"I thought Jamilia would rush into his steps.

"But she didn't move.

"As if she kept lending an ear

"to the sounds which were still alive,

"floating somewhere into the air."

I stayed for the children.

We are 4 sisters.

My sister's in-laws are mean.

She has 6 children. Her husband doesn't work.

She got sick and now has a goiter.

Her husband drinks every day. When he's drunk, he throws her out.

None of your close ones help you in such cases.

One of her daughters got married in a good family.

They let my sister harvest nuts with her daughter in the woods.

My other sister has eight children.

My brother has six children.

I have five children.

My other sister has five children too.

My younger brother has seven children.

Another brother is the father of six.

One of my older brothers is a grandad already.

Another has six daughters but no son.

All his daughters are married, except for one.

When all their children are settled, the parents die.

Your mother-in-law won't let you be until you give birth to a child.

Shahzoda?

Bring your daughter here.

Our fathers and grand-fathers are great Mullah.

Women wear the hijab.

They don't permit their daughters to study.

I was an excellent student.

I had obtained a grant to pursue my studies.

I wanted to study physics, like my dad.

But it couldn't happen. It was just a dream.

My parents wanted me to go to college of life,

with its cooking pots permanent boiling and its dishes constant tinkling.

My name is Dilhumar.

I come from a simple family.

My dad was a teacher and my mother a housewife.

I was married when I was 19.

I was 20 when my first son was born. My husband is a year older than me.

He respects me and loves me very dearly.

He is always polite with me.

Even when I go out without telling him,

he does not get angry, beat me up or insult me.

He is careful.

There are many ordeals in life.

These ordeals break you.

I have two sons and a daughter.

To my mother-in-law, I'm not a good daughter-in-law.

She was hoping to have a good daughter-in-law.

These days, we collect nuts in the woods.

I served my mother-in-law for six years.

She loved me as her own child.

My brother-in-law fell in love with my younger sister.

My parents turned him down: they had already arranged a wedding for her.

So he kidnapped her,

and my mother-in-law rejected me.

Two years of quarrels followed.

I got sick.

I lost sight.

My parents immediately left to rescue my sister,

but she'll bear the marks of this kidnapping all her life.

Women have to face so many hardships.

If you don't act, it's problematic.

And if you do, it also is.

I decided to write my memoirs.

I was halfway through it when my husband found my text.

I was out at the village then.

He took it and burnt it.

They publish books at the village.

I wanted to meet the editor.

My husband told me:

"Why do you write?

"You're happy with me.

"I take care of you. My father respects you.

"Quarrels between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are common.

"I live for you and for my children."

Mothers need to have daughters.

I wish I'll marry my daughter to a nice family,

and I could teach her many things.

If you don't have a daughter, who will you talk to?

You can't tell anyone anything.

You can't talk to your sons.

My mother-in-law has no daughter. You need to understand her.

"For a woman, the most dangerous place is home."

"The space within a cup of tea is not broad enough for me."

They say October 11th

is International Day of the Girl Child

This is our day

Girls are endowed with great strength

We're girls

Our main goal is equality

to protect our rights

We're told how to dress

Our behaviour is submitted to criticism

Our rights aren't protected

We're not listened to

The child girl's rights are not guaranteed

In our society, violence is a common thing

We belong to society

We are the power of the people

We are useful too

We carry our projects out, here and now

Subtitles: Cloé Tralci