India-based ★ ActionAid and Dentsu Inc. Mama Lab collaborate: Short film depicting "wives" sparks discussion

ActionAid, a global NGO network supporting people suffering from poverty and human rights violations, collaborated with India's Dentsu Inc. "Mama Lab" to release a short film depicting wives oppressed under India's patriarchal traditions.

The short film "The Wives" garnered over 150,000 views in just two days after its November 25th release and achieved 10,000 shares on the online media platform ScoopWhoop. It has generated significant buzz and been featured in local publications like India Today.

Set in an extremely arid region, "The Wives" follows a man who already has two wives. When his wife becomes pregnant, making water collection difficult, he takes a third wife. The film quietly portrays the daily lives of the three wives, devoted solely to household chores for their husband, with cinematic beauty. It shows the distress of the original wives and the new wife, who from her first day carries an overwhelming number of containers to fetch water. (Click the image below to watch the trailer on the official website)

ActionAid's website describes the film as "a mirror reflecting a world of unprecedented cruelty and absurdity. We want to change, even if only little by little, the reality that surrounds us as if it were normal." It concludes, "Don't just watch it; spread the word about this topic. It's a message too important to ignore." Sylvia Kovari Kretzschmar, Chief Strategy Officer at Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network overseeing international Mama Lab, shares her thoughts: "The 'water-carrying wife'—a woman married for the labor of fetching water—is also a metaphor for women who are rarely valued within their families, workplaces, or society. Changing perceptions around gender discrimination isn't easy. But if this work sparks even a little thought about this social issue, it could lead to the next step."

Dentsu Inc. Mama Lab was established in Japan in 2008. Operating under the concept "Dentsu Inc. Mama Lab.-Changing worlds," it is a work tank that solves problems using mothers' real insights. Dedicated teams at each domestic and international location develop distinctive solutions. Mama Lab India was established in March 2015. It focuses on social issues concerning women and is dedicated to re-examining traditional perceptions of motherhood.