Devi
Nepal's Civil War ended in 2006, but not for Devi; rebel warrior, mother and sexual violence survivor. As those in power try to erase rape from the history of the war, Devi has to battle her own demons before she can begin to build a movement to fight for justice.
Summary
Devi Khadka is leading a quiet resistance. As she travels around Nepal, listening to stories of wartime rape survivors, and creating a unified voice for justice, she knows that she’s poking a hornet’s nest. Nepal’s leaders want to bury the shameful truth of wartime rape. As the only public face of survivors, Devi has decided that she can no longer stay silent. But her hip-hop-loving teenage daughter just wants her to be a mum.
In 1997, seventeen-year-old Devi, was arrested, accused of being a rebel, tortured, and raped in custody. A civil war had just begun. Rebel leaders revealed her as a rape ‘victim’. Tagged with this shameful taboo, Devi battled depression, social ostracism, joined the rebel frontlines, and rose through the ranks, even serving as a member of the parliament when the war ended.
Shot as an immersive verité, the film travels with Devi, as she consolidates the voices of survivors.
As Devi confronts her former lawyer and seeks consolation from her counsellor, the film dives into deeply intimate and vulnerable moments.
Through her diary, supported by archives, Devi reconstructs history erased to rewrite her new destiny.
Directors Statement
In June of 2019, Devi called me and gave me her diary in which she had detailed her life, including the rape and the aftermath. She expressed with urgency that she wanted me to tell her story. Politically, the Maoist former guerrillas had merged with a mainstream political party. The newly formed Communist Party of Nepal won a sweeping electoral victory in 2017. Now that they were part of the ruling establishment, the chances that victims of abuse would get justice had become slimmer.
When a country goes through civil war, storytellers have an obligation to bear witness. As one of the few Nepali women in the media, I spent some time traveling with an all-women battalion of guerrillas during the conflict for a short film. Devi was a legend then. But over the years, my requests to meet her were declined.
I understand why Devi could not talk for such a long time.
When the #MeToo movement started, unpleasant memories of college sexual assault resurfaced. It took decades for me to overcome it and process it. I am in awe of Devi and her strength.
These two decades of telling stories from Nepal have earned me people’s trust. An additional layer of confidence has been added by my researcher and mentee, Asmita Khadka. Asmita was a guerrilla herself. Disillusionment came sooner to her, and since 2010 she’s been working as a journalist, often doing ground breaking and controversial reports on women within the Maoist party.
Over several months, Asmita and I met Devi regularly, listening to her and familiarising ourselves with her story. Devi has given us access to film her family life. We’ve shown her and her husband edited sections (Devi is not ready to go over some sections) and discussed the next steps with her, which has helped build trust. Devi’s husband, also a former guerrilla, comes from the same ethnic community as me and he too has opened up during the film making.
I’ve come to understand the burdens that Devi has to carry. Over the years, some women told me in confidentiality that they’d survived rape. They’d hoped that Devi would come to their support. But Devi had chosen the Maoist party over them. I often wonder if reaching out to me was Devi searching for some kind of absolution.
I’ve been mindful not to further jeopardise the security and wellbeing of the women who choose to share their stories with Devi - either by some careless exposure of their identities, or over-promising and disappointing them. I’ve been conferring regularly with human rights activists and lawyers who have worked with survivors before. And we have a strong impact campaign that aims to support Devi and the women she represents for many years to come.
I’ve forged a team committed to telling stories of justice, those in power don’t want to be told.
