For the first time, cameras go inside a police station run by and for women, revealing a unique perspective on what’s really going on in Indian society. Following the Delhi rape case in December 2012, hundreds of these police stations were set up across India. Parmila Dalal is second-in-command at the Women Police Station in Sonipat, in the northern state of Haryana. Every day she has to deal with whatever cases the public bring to her. Sometimes she works as a typical police officer, investigating crimes or managing matters of public order. We see her dealing briskly with a group of boys caught taking drugs, while another scene shows Parmila and her team of women working alongside male police officers as they cope with a confrontation over the proposed building of a motorway.

However, much of Parmila’s time is spent mediating in family disputes, in which we see her acting more as a counsellor or social worker. The film shows how these family arguments expose many of the faultlines running through Indian society. We follow Parmila in her uninhibited encounters with family members at war over such contentious matters as caste, dowry payment and relations with unpleasant in-laws. These various scenes of family discord reveal how women’s lives are changing in India today, and how they often struggle to reconcile the conflicting demands made upon them. A recurrent theme is how an educated wife has to cope with the expectations of her more traditional husband – and his family.

A Ronachan Fillms production for Al Jazeera English

Producer & Director: Ruhi Hamid
Executive Producer: Christopher Mitchell
Editor: Charlie Hawryliw

2017