A film dramatizing the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy has been cleared for screening in Bangladesh. An earlier court had ruled the film was too graphic and violated standing censorship rules.
A four-member panel of judges lifted the ban Sunday, overturning an earlier court’s decision that halted the film’s general release in Bangladesh.
“There is now no restriction to release the ‘Rana Plaza’ movie,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the AFP news agency, without giving the court’s reasons.
The film centers on the dramatic rescue of 19-year-old Reshma Akhter from the ruins of the nine-storey complex 17 days after its collapse. Images of Akhter, dusty and dazed, being pulled from the wreckage appeared on newspaper front pages worldwide and turned her into a national heroine.
The movie had been due for release on September 4, after receiving a certificate from the censors in July. But the High Court banned it for six months after the head of Bangladesh’s National Garment Workers League, Sirajul Islam Rony, filed a petition saying it contains graphic scenes and TV footage in violation of censorship rules.
“Female garment workers will be scared by all this,” Rony told DW last month.
Bangladesh’s $25-billion (22.4-billion-euro) garment industry is the world’s second largest after China’s and a mainstay of the economy, churning out millions of pieces of clothing for Western retailers.
But the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory and other deadly accidents sparked a local and international outcry over the industry’s shoddy conditions and low pay for its four million workers.
Director Nazrul Islam Khan said he was delighted with the court’s decision and would now work to get a fresh release date for the 137-minute film.
“There is no obstacle now to screen the film in movie theaters,” film producer Shamima Akhter told reporters.
Source: DW.com