8-year-old Zakura is facing a race against time to avoid being sold as a child bride as soon as she starts menstruating.
Zakura’s father wants his child to avoid the preordained female fate for girls around 11 or 12 years old in the Wadi Qelt valley on the Palestine-Israel border. Unfortunately, his wishes were not enough.
A documentary-maker in Moscow is now seeking a producer in London to tell Zakura’s story in a documentary.
28-year-old Ivan Vdovin expressed how Mail Online’s report about the young girl inspired ‘loving father’ Afarat to believe they are ‘part of a big world’ and that his precious daughter could have a better life.
While her 14-year-old cousin, Omar, is already a ‘candidate’ to be her groom, there could still be pressure to marry her to an older man as a second woman.
First filmed when she was 5, Zakura goes to a UN school in Jericho city where she travels daily from their home in Wadi Kelt.
Vdovin said: “When we asked her what she wants to be when she’s older, she confidently said a doctor.
“For now this sounds unreal, because a medical education is among the most expensive in Israel and Palestine – but this is her dream.”
When Vdovin first met her, “it was clear to me that (she) was an outstandingly charismatic and gifted child.”
He also feels that “despite severity of traditions in her society, her education and Zakura’s personal goals can really affect her future.”
He added: “I personally expect that after the documentary is released, Arafat will become convinced that Zakura truly can have a choice.”
Vdovin knows that Zakura’s time to talk to other people is limited. “She is still a child and there are no barriers yet, she can talk to anyone she wants,” he said.
“But my communication with her is possible only now, while she’s a child, not a potential bride….
“In three or four years Zakura will be banned from talking to me and other men. Punishment can be anything, even murder.”
So far Vdovin has raised money for this project from crowdfunding and his personal savings, and he hopes to find backer for the big documentary.
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