Film Screening and Panel Discussion: An Eye for an Eye

What could a woman do about an abusive husband 800 years ago? A remarkable document from 1210 offers a glimpse into how women in medieval Afghanistan could seek protection and negotiate their rights within marriage. This November, a special film screening and panel discussion at the University of Oxford will bring historical and contemporary experiences of domestic abuse into conversation.

The Invisible East programme is pleased to announce a screening of An Eye for an Eye, a documentary by filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian, followed by a panel discussion featuring our Principal Investigator, Dr Arezou Azad, alongside the director, Dr Soraya Tremayne and Dr Zuzanna Olszewska.

The documentary follows Tahereh, a woman in Tehran who seeks help from the authorities against her abusive husband, only to be turned away. Her experience raises difficult questions about women's rights, access to justice and the challenges of seeking protection from domestic violence.

These questions also resonate with the historical records being studied by the Invisible East programme. Among the documents in our corpus is a remarkable legal agreement dating to 1210, in which a husband named Mubārak promises, before witnesses, not to beat his wife Khātū without cause. The agreement stipulates that if he breaks this promise, Khātū has the right to divorce him.

Although separated by eight centuries, the experiences reflected in this medieval document and Eshaghian's documentary invite us to consider both the continuities and differences in women's ability to exercise their rights, negotiate within marriage and seek legal recourse against abuse.

The screening will provide an opportunity to explore these themes from historical, anthropological and contemporary perspectives. Bringing together scholars and filmmakers, the panel discussion will consider how women's experiences of marriage, violence and justice have been shaped by changing social and legal contexts.

Event Details

Date: Friday 7 November, 3:00 pm
Venue: Investcorp Theatre, St Antony's College, University of Oxford

Film: An Eye for an Eye, directed by Tanaz Eshaghian

Panel: Tanaz Eshaghian, Dr Arezou Azad, Dr Soraya Tremayne and Dr Zuzanna Olszewska

To explore the historical document discussed above, visit the Invisible East Digital Corpus.

We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a thought-provoking screening and discussion.