Hema Commission Report: WCC Meets Kerala Chief Minister

Hema committee report: WCC meets Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (Facebook)

The members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Chief Minister’s Office in the Secretariat on Wednesday, August 11.

They appealed for the protection of privacy of women who testified before the Justice K Hema Committee. The women’s body members also requested that the women be immediately taken to safety.

In response, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured WCC members that their concerns would be addressed soon.

Revathy Asha, Rima Kallingal, Bina Paul and Deedi Damodaran were among those who met the chief minister.

The WCC’s meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came a day after the Kerala High Court criticised the state government for its inaction regarding sexual harassment and exploitation of women in Malayalam cinema, as highlighted in the Justice Hema Commission report.

Later, actor Revathy said in a newscast that the WCC had raised the issue of privacy and safety of the complainants with the Kerala Chief Minister. She added that the WCC had also urged the Chief Minister to take immediate action on the sexual offences exposed in the report.

A special bench of the High Court asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to review the report, prompting the WCC to raise concerns with the government over the privacy of the complainants, particularly women.

The WCC considered that the government could bring this issue before the court during the further proceedings.

Related: Kerala HC slams state for failing to act on Hema commission report for five years

WCC proposes code of conduct for cinema

Meanwhile, the WCC has proposed a Cinema Code of Conduct for implementation in the Malayalam film industry. The first part of the proposed code deals with contracts.

On September 7, the WCC proposed adopting the Code via social media.

Under the Cinema Code of Conduct (CCC), the WCC proposed that employment contracts should be mandatory for all film workers at all levels. The contracts should specify the title of the film, employer and employee details, remuneration, payment terms, work profile, working conditions and the nature of the credits.

The WCC also stressed that every contract should contain a clause relating to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) (PoSH) Act, 2013.

It further suggested that both cast and crew should use industry-approved contract templates, as set out in the proposed CCC. In addition, the women’s body recommended mechanisms for reporting breaches of contract.

Sandra Thomas criticizes KFPA

In another development, producer Sandra Thomas criticised the Kerala Film Producers’s Association (KFPA) for acting like the sub-committee of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists). She further sought an explanation from the KFPA for mocking women producers.

Sandra Thomas also claimed that she was not aware of the letter sent by KFPA to the Kerala Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Kerala Culture Minister Saji Cheriyan announced that the Justice Hema Commission report would be handed over to the SIT, set up by the government.

(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)