Copyright: Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Tajikistan, Institute for Social and Gender Policy (Russia), Network Women's Program of the Open Society Institute, International Gender Policy Network (Czech Republic)
Economic depression and political chaos force Tajik men to become migrant laborers, working in unsafe conditions and with inconsistent pay. Tajik women attempt to keep their families alive, and in some cases, enter polygamous marriages to feed themselves and their families. Often, these women relate to Penelope, the wife of the mythical hero Odysseus, who waits many years for her husband to return. The men working abroad and the women left behind face the same fate: hard work and human rights abuses. This film allows the viewer to experience the hardships of migrant labor through the eyes of both women and men. This film is part of the Gender Montage: Films from Post-Soviet Space film series. The film has both English and Russian subtitles.