PESHAWAR: A short documentary film by journalism students from Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has won the first prize in the Stand Up Men category of the Girls Impact the World Film Festival.

Shot by Muhammad Waseem, Amna Istimraj and Asif Khan from Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, "The Chain Breaker" portrays Sameer Khan, a teacher from Tangi area in Charsadda district, who challenged the patriarchal norms of Pashtun society and has brought his maternal uncles to court to fight for his mother's right to inheritance.

"There are many cases where women fight for their right to property, but very rarely men would stand up for them," the students' mentor, Asif Momand, told Arab News.

Despite women's rights to inheritance under Islamic law and the Women's Property Rights Act passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly in 2019, cultural norms make it nearly impossible for women in the region to receive their share in inheritance and ownership of property.

Khan's mother, Husan Zari, broke the taboo, for which she faced social boycott and was disowned by her brothers. Khan vowed to fight for her and other women, making their right to inheritance his main cause.

With two old handy cameras, one of them with a broken screen, the students spoke to Khan and also gained the trust of his mother to record her.

"It is tough to take women on camera, but she opposed all odds," said Istimraj who interviewed Zari for the shot.

"Winning such a prestigious award has encouraged all of us and a few other ideas are now planned," said Istimraj, who wants to focus her future career on women's empowerment. In her new project, she wants to reach out to women politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to document their struggles and resilience.    

For Waseem, the short film's producer who like Istimraj is in his final year of university, the story was even more personal.

"Some of my relatives have wasted their time and resources in courts only to deprive their women of basic property rights," he said, "It made me want to work on this very issue. I visited five district courts, in Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Peshawar and Charsadda to find relevant cases. There were many, by the woman did not agree to be on camera."

The Girls Impact the World Film Festival promotes youth voices to spotlight critical issues facing women and girls.

Sponsored by American charity Connect Her, the festival every year invites submissions from young film makers on subjects such as access to education, ending violence against women, and their economic independence.

The Stand Up Men category in which the AWKUM team won, celebrates men who are taking stand for women's rights.

This year's laureates were announced on Saturday.