Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy wants to bring attention to a very pressing issue in our society. When it comes to child support after a couple divorces, some fathers tend to get away with shoving the financial burden onto single mothers instead of fulfilling their duty. The Oscar-winning filmmaker plans on causing some shifts by releasing films that highlight the flaws in our system and tell painful stories of single mothers who are left to shoulder it all alone.

On Saturday, Obaid-Chinoy shared a series of Instagram stories talking about the issue. “The laws on child support need to be changed in Pakistan. The courts should be able to do financial audits of fathers who shirk duties of payments to their children and leave mothers to fend for themselves,” she wrote. “I will be working with legislators to ensure that we fortify our laws and ensure that no mother has to beg a father to fulfill his duty towards his children.”

She shared that she has personally been in contact with women who are struggling because of this. “Just this morning I heard a painful story of a single mother who is struggling to raise her daughter. Her ex-husband threatens her each time she asks for financial support. We have to ensure that no mother ever has to worry about a child’s basic needs…” she said.

The filmmaker has the initial steps all mapped out. “We will start by creating a series of films that highlight that flaws that exist in the system and share the painful stories of mothers whose husbands can afford to support their children but do not,” she wrote.

She concluded by reminding her followers that we’re all related to women whose stories haunt us. “We must work to ensure that no woman has to go through this again,” she said. More power to Obaid-Chinoy for bringing an important issue to light.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 13 2023

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