Where Are the Women? He Named Me Malala

A smack in the face to a film industry that pretends to believe that girls and women aren’t doing anything useful or interesting in the world.

BASIC REPRESENTATION SCORE: +30

+25

Is there a female protagonist? [why this matters]

Is she nonwhite? [why this matters]

FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE: +7

Is there a female character (either a protagonist or a supporting character with significant screen time) in a position of authority (politics, law, medicine, etc.)? [why this matters]

Is she nonwhite? [why this matters]

THE MALE GAZE SCORE: 0

[no issues]

GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE: 0

[no issues]

WILDCARD SCORE: 0

Is there anything either positive or negative in the film’s representation of women not already accounted for here? (points will vary)

No.

TOTAL SCORE: +37

IS THE FILM’S DIRECTOR FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)

IS THE FILM’S SCREENWRITER FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)

BOTTOM LINE: This documentary is a smack in the face to a film industry that pretends to believe that girls and women aren’t doing anything useful or interesting in the world.

Click here for the ongoing ranking of 2015’s films for female representation.

NOTE: This is not a “review” of He Named Me Malala! It is simply an examination of how well or how poorly it represents women. (A movie that represents women well can still be a terrible film; a movie that represents women poorly can still be a great film.) Read my review of He Named Me Malala.

See the full rating criteria. (Criteria that do not apply to this film have been deleted in this rating for maximum readability.)

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