White Robes, Saffron Dreams

<strong>CENTRE FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES, JNU</strong> a Film Screening and Interaction with the Filmmaker <strong>White Robes, Saffron Dreams</strong> Director: <strong>Teena Amrit Gill</strong> (43min) This is a film about the discriminatory treatment of women in Theravada Buddhism in Thailand. The film explores how Buddhist institutions, which provide a social security network to boys in a country where a large percent of the population are poor, do not give girls and women access to these facilities. The main reason for this is that while Thai boys can be ordained, girls cannot, and therefore they are not allowed to use the facilities provided by the temples. In an environment where there is very little open discussion about Buddhist institutions, and on attitudes towards women, the filmmaker foregrounds the difficulty to shoot this film, and to get people to speak on this subject. Date: <strong>August 25, 2015</strong>