Midwives

Obstetricians Hla and Nyo Nyo, a Buddhist and a Muslim, brave persecution in Myanmar to provide medical care for Rohingya women. Despite the civil war and risks, Nyo Nyo establishes a clinic, showcasing resilience in the face of political turmoil. The Sundance-prize-winning documentary captures their unwavering commitment amid a backdrop of violence and instability.  

'I was born in Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar. When I was a kid, it seemed as though Buddhists and Muslims were able to live peacefully side by side. As an adult, I was living and working as a filmmaker in Yangon. In 2012, news of the Rohingya conflict started to come out. I refused to believe in the hate speech in the media at that time, so I went back to my hometown to better understand myself, my people, where all this anger and hatred was coming from. As a female filmmaker, I first thought of searching for a story about women in the conflict zone. Many people were saying that the Rohingya population was growing because of a lack of access to birth control. This heightened my curiosity to find midwives practising in the region. There I met two extraordinary women, a Buddhist midwife Hla and her young Muslim apprentice Nyo Nyo. This film is dedicated to women living in a conflict zone. It’s about compassion, courage, and sisterhood.' - Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing