Hema committee report evokes strong reactions; women's panel, WCC want govt to ensure actions

Thiruvananthapuram: The shocking revelations of the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry have evoked strong reactions across society, demanding stringent actions to ensure a safe working atmosphere and equal treatment for women professionals.

While the opposition Congress-led UDF wanted a team of women IPS officers to probe the complaints, the state Women's Commission sought the immediate intervention of the authorities to address the issues pointed out in the report.

"Based on the suggestions of the Hema Committee, the Women's Commission will recommend to the government to take the necessary steps to ensure grievance redressal committees as per the POSH Act in shooting sets," women's panel chief P Sathi Devi said on Monday.

POSH Act stands for Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Welcoming the release of the report, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an outfit of women professionals in the industry, expressed hope that the government would take all necessary steps to study and act upon the recommendations.

The WCC has been pressing for a long time to address the issues being faced by women in the Malayalam film industry and seek necessary interventions by the government to ensure gender equality there.

"It has been a long journey for us! We believed that our fight for justice for all women wanting a dignified professional space in the film industry was the right fight. Today we stand vindicated. The publication of the Hema Committee report is another step that WCC has taken," it said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The outfit also said this is the first time in the history of cinema that there is a report on how gender works in the film industry.

"We thank Justice Hema, Ms Sarada (veteran actress) and Dr Valsalakumari (retired civil servant) for the long hours they have spent to create this report," it said.

"We sincerely hope the government will take all necessary steps to study and act upon the recommendations. This is the voice of women, and it must be heard!" the WCC added in the FB post.

The Hema Committee was constituted by the state government to study the issues faced by women in the film industry, their working atmosphere, and to suggest solutions to their problems.

It was for the first time that a government in this country came up with such an initiative and constituted a committee with a high court judge, a bureaucrat (both retired), and a senior cine artist to make a study on the issues relating to women in cinema and suggest solutions.

The much-awaited Hema Committee report, released on Monday, has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry and has alleged that a "criminal gang" was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out.

The panel report also alleged there was a "power nexus" consisting of a handful of producers, directors, actors and production controllers.

The Kerala government constituted the panel after the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.

The report sheds light on the widespread and persistent sexual harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry, with many alleging they were subjected to unwanted advances even before commencing work.

The women actors who are ready to compromise are given code names, and those who are not ready to yield are pushed out of the field, as per the report.

The report highlighted the widespread nature of the issue, sparking concerns about the safety and well-being of women in the industry.

"It has come out in evidence that certain men in cinema, who are well-known and well-reputed for their ability as artist, director or whoever he be in the film industry have shocked certain women in cinema by sexual harassment and physical advances made by them towards them," the expert panel report said.

The copy of the report was given to the media under the RTI Act after five years of its submission to the government.