The World Before HerFriday, October 19 at 6pm at BUEIA thought-provoking documentary, ‘The World Before Her’ tells the emotive story of two emerging, yet very diverse, female cultures in India.One is violently fighting to keep women in a submissive state, defined merely as wives and mothers; another is breaking away from that, encouraging young girls to have a personal voice, albeit at the risk of sexualising and demoralising them.The film introduces the audience to a radical group of Hindu women through the eyes of a bully-like character, 24-year-old Prachi. Prachi is one of thousands of girls each year who are sent to fundamentalist camps run by Durgha Vahini, the head of a woman’s wing of the largest Hindu national group.She is immediately painted as a strong character, rebelling against the Western culture’s ideals of beauty and the watering down of the Hindu religion. Her tough facade begins to fade once you meet her domineering father, who has beaten and burned her with a scolding iron when she disobeyed his orders. It becomes clear that she is born into a world where she is forced into predetermined roles and where her life and opinions are not valued.This story is juxtaposed with the starkly different life experienced by girls like Ruhi, vying for the title of the Miss India Pageant in Bombay. With supportive parents who encourage her to live her dreams, girls like Ruhi appear to be living a progressive life.The beauty business is one of the few areas in India that offers women the same opportunities as men. The beauty contestants are encouraged to undergo Botox and skin whitening treatments. At one point they are told to wear sacks on their faces while a judging panel scrutinises the girls’ legs and bodies. One girl comments that she feels degraded while parading around in her swimsuit.Written by Nisha Pahuja, the film is captivating and managed to keep me interested from start to finish. You feel for girls on both sides of the emerging India, but perhaps lean towards a side that at least gives women the right to choose their dreams and decide what their future will look like for themselves.