Any birth is a cause for rejoicing, or so you would think.

However, when the Student Sociologists Association aired the documentary It’s a Girl this past Monday in Shawnee Theater, students were shocked to learn that in some countries, being born a girl was punishable by death.

Amy Diehl, the president of the Student Sociologists Association, first saw the documentary’s trailer on YouTube and immediately knew  this was a movie that others needed to see.

She brought the documentary to the attention of Dr. Emily LaBeff, a sociology professor and a sponsor of the SSA.

“From the title, It’s a Girl, a lot of people thought [the film] was just going to be about having babies when it was quite the opposite,” said Diehl.

“When the first scene showed the woman talking about killing her eight children simply because they were girls, I think the message became clear this wasn’t going to be a “feel-good” film about having babies.”

The SSA bought the rights to air the documentary on campus in hopes to raise awareness of the global issue of gendercide.

Gendercide—or the killing of babies based upon their gender—is more frequent when the child is a girl, and in countries that value men over women.

It’s a Girl concentrated on the gendercide in India and China, and gave such horrifying examples of a mother casually demonstrating how she suffocated her baby girl.

Another part of the film told the tale of an Indian woman who discovered she was carrying twin baby girls.

Her husband repeatedly tried to abort the babies by sneaking something his wife was allergic to in her food.

When that didn’t work, he tried pushing her down a flight of stairs – all because her babies were female.

Even though the woman is currently trying to fight her husband in a court of law, the Indian government will not listen to her case because of her gender.

These are just two examples given out of the 90 minute documentary, with plenty more shocking instances in the film.

Taylor, a student in the audience, expressed her astonishment at the content of the documentary to her friend, who was also amazed by what took place.

“Who would have thought that being a girl could be a bad thing?” Taylor said.

With the global issues such as gendercide and the treatment of women being addressed in the film, the SSA found it important to spread the word of what was occurring world-wide.

“This past summer I taught a course on global issues, and the students were quite shocked at how women are treated globally,” said Dr. LaBeff.

“We thought it was important to show on campus (outside of our classrooms) so we could reach a wider audience.”

The SSA has previously shown two successful documentaries on campus before, but It’s A Girl seemed to generate immediate discussion as soon as the credits rolled.

“After the film, a lot of students wanted to talk more about it and expressed how they had no idea this issue of gendercide even existed,” said Diehl.

“To me, that speaks volumes and shows the students were engaged.”

Although the film was free for everyone, the SSA did have to pay a fee to show It’s A Girl on campus.

However, with the success of the showing and the message that the documentary gives to the audience, both Diehl and Dr. LaBeff thought the cost was worth it.

“I think documentaries can capture your attention in ways that giving out a pamphlet or listening to a speaker can’t,” said Diehl.

“There are a lot of students on campus who never have to step foot in a sociology class, so I think showing films is a great way to get students thinking about topics and issues that they may not have been exposed to before.”

With the airing of It’s A Girl, Diehl and the SSA hope to bring more eye-opening documentaries to the Midwestern State student body.

“I am certainly excited to show more films and try to get that theater packed again.” Diehl said.

“I am always thinking of what films we could show next. Nothing is set in stone yet but there are some ideas in the works!”