In a remote village in northern Turkey, five orphaned sisters are robbed of their childhood as they are forced into arranged marriages to cover up a so-called scandal. In the first and last scene of youthful joy and childhood innocence, the sisters play on the beach with their male classmates. Following this, the girls are scolded for “pleasuring themselves” by sitting on the boys’ shoulders and the already stifling home becomes a “wife factory” from which there is no escape. Forbidden from attending school, the young girls must stay at home, where they are taught how to cook, clean and sew by their female relatives. They are forced to parade around town in order to attract potential suitors and, one by one, the sisters are married off to older male strangers. Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s directorial debut explores the reality of child marriage in patriarchal societies and the yearning for a youth that is stripped away. Continue reading Child Brides and Virginity Myths: Sexuality and Suppression in Mustang