Why did Kerala govt sit on contentious Hema committee report for nearly five years?

Thiruvananthapuram: As the report of a three member committee headed by retired High Court judge K Hema came out on Monday, putting on record the sexual exploitations and discriminations being faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, the big question that has arisen is why the CPI (M) government led by CM Pinarayi Vijayan sat on it for nearly five years?

Apart from the series of harrowing experiences of sexual exploitations, discriminations and even threats faced by women and even some male artists narrated in the report, it is also learnt that the report itself suggested that legal actions could be initiated under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (which was then in force) for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage modesty.

The report was submitted to the government in December 2019 but, so far the government has not taken any action on it. Even the key recommendations like setting up a tribunal or government control grievance redressal mechanism has not been put in place yet.

The justification being given by the government is the protection of the identities of the victims who deposed before the committee on the condition of anonymity.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said that the government was instead trying to protect the identity of the culprits on the pretext of protecting the identity of the victims by sitting on the report for nearly five years. He demanded that the government should form a special team led by a woman IPS officer to probe into the sexual harassment allegations, including the allegations of assaults on minors, mentioned in the Hema committee report.

Cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan justified the government's inaction on the report by citing that there were no specific complaints. He also stated that the Hema committee report itself mentioned that "confidentiality should be maintained."

In the meantime, Cheriyan, who holds the portfolio of cinemas, preferred to highlight the prospects of the Malayalam film industry. "The Malayalam film industry is now witnessing a boom and bringing good revenue to the state. Thousands of people, including women, are working in it. All those who are working in the industry need not be framed in a bad light," he said, as part of his efforts to defend the government.

Legal experts including former director general of prosecution T Asaf Ali strongly criticised the government for the inaction on the report that contained details of cognizable offence.

Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a forum of women in Malayalam film industry which has been pressing the government to take action on the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, also expressed hopes that the government would take steps to study and act upon the recommendations. "This is the voice of women and it must be heard," they said in a social media post.