Ziauddin Yousafzai and Ranjit appear in a new film in which they discuss fatherhood, courage, gender justice and bringing up strong daughters

The day Ranjit’s daughter was born, he distributed sweets to the entire village – not just because he was thrilled to be a father for the first time, but because he was father to a girl. “God heard my heart and granted my wish,” he says. His devotion to baby Kiran* was immediate and unshakeable. He would rush home from his work in the fields to spend time caring for her.

Millions of fathers around the world will relate to the joy Ranjit felt, but in deeply patriarchal rural India publicly celebrating the arrival of a girl is an unusual, even defiant, act.