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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 10, 2023 | The Indian Eye 25

Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar hosts Rally for

her Bill supporting Women Who Suffer Stillbirths

OUR BUREAU blywoman Rajkumar’s bill will correct this ineq-
uity by extending Paid Family Leave to all wom-
South Queens, NY
en who give birth, no matter the outcome of the
n Tuesday, January 31, on the Million Dol- pregnancy.
lar Staircase in the New York State Capitol, Assemblywoman Rajkumar said, “All women
OAssemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-AD who give birth should have paid time off. Make no
38) convened dozens of advocates to call for pas- mistake: women who experienced a stillbirth gave
sage of her landmark bill to support women who birth, and their bodies went through the birthing
suffer a stillbirth. This legislation will add a still- process. Their babies were real. Though their pre-
birth as a qualifying event for Paid Family Leave cious babies did not survive the birth, their moth-
in New York State, entitling parents to 12 weeks of ers did and their mothers’ bodies need the time to
paid leave from work with employment protection. recover just like all women need after a pregnan-
cy. The mother of a stillbirth child also needs the
Occurring 65 times in the United States time to grieve the loss of her baby. These women
deserve to be seen and to be included in the Paid
each day, a stillbirth is the loss of a preg- Family Leave law of our state.”
Joining Assemblywoman Rajkumar were rep-
nancy on or after 20 weeks. It requires resentatives from PUSH for Empowered Pregnan-
a course of medical treatment similar to cy, a national coalition of parents, healthcare pro-
that of a live birth. The experience can be viders, and allies committed to ending preventable
stillbirths.
incredibly traumatic for parents, putting The Assemblywoman announced her legisla-
them at high risk for depression, anxiety, Under current New York State law, families tion last month in a press conference with PUSH
Pregnancy.
and PTSD. are entitled to paid leave following the birth of a Video of her speech in its entirety is available
child, but not in the event of a stillbirth. Assem- at nyassembly.gov/

‘CALL ME DANCER’ Announces World & NYC Premieres

OUR BUREAU
New York, NY
eslie Shampaine’s 84-minute
feature documentary CALL
LME DANCER will have its
world premiere at Santa Barbara In-
ternational Film Festival (in juried
competition for Best Documenta-
ry) on February 9th followed by the
East Coast premiere as the Opening
Night film at Dance on Camera Fes-
tival at Film at Lincoln Center, the
longest-running dance film festival in
the world, on February 10th. The film
is looking for distribution in North talented street dancer from Mumbai against him. This is a heart-warming the profession, but what is often lost
America, the U.K., South Asia, and who is struggling against his parents’ and uplifting story of struggle and te- is the passion and inner joy that push-
other regions of the world. insistence that he follow a tradition- nacity, family, culture, rebellion, and es dancers past the pain. I knew, as a
International pop icon, singer al path because they are counting an unlikely friendship. Filmed in India, dancer, I could offer an insider’s sensi-
and songwriter Jay Sean executive on their only son to support them. the UK, Israel, and the US, the docu- tivity and perspective,” said first-time
produced CALL ME DANCER be- When he secretly attends an in- mentary features TWO original songs director Shampaine, and former pro-
cause the story resonated with his ner-city dance school and accidentally by Jay Sean, music by Bangladeshi fessional dancer from New York City.
own; as a British-Indian, Sean’s par- walks into a ballet class, he meets Yehu- American hip-hop artist Anik Khan, “I gathered a talented international
ents wanted him to pursue medicine da, a curmudgeonly 70-year-old Israeli and a score by award-winning, Brit- team made up of Indian film profes-
rather than his dream of becoming a teacher, and a hunger develops within ish-Indian composer Nainita Desai. sionals with insights into the culture
singer. In English and Hindi (with En- him. Ambitious and passionate, Man- “Dance films are typically creat- and socio-economic reality of Mum-
glish subtitles), the film’s lead protag- ish is determined to make it as a profes- ed by looking into our world from the bai. This is a story that I hope inspires
onist is Manish Chauhan, a young and sional dancer, but the odds are stacked outside. They convey the difficulty of people across the globe.”

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