Opposition parties in Kerala demand police probe into sexual exploitation of women in Malayalam film industry

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 19 (IANS) After the release of the Justice K Hema Commission report on the status of women working in the Malayalam film industry, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan has criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government for shelving the report since 2019. The report, which was finally released on Monday after five years, has revealed some shocking facts about sexual exploitation of women in the film industry.

Justice (Retd) Hema submitted her report in 2019 after being appointed by the Vijayan government in 2017. The report cost Rs 1.50 crore to prepare. It had to wait five years for publication and was released after a long legal battle, during which names and sensitive facts were redacted.

Satheeshan said, “This is a serious crime committed by the Vijayan government and we want to know why this report has been shelved. Was it to protect the exploiters? The need of the hour is to form a special police investigation team headed by a top woman IPS officer and punish all the offenders, whoever they are and wherever they are.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Culture and Films Saji Cherian said he has been serving as a minister for the past three years and has not received any complaint of exploitation till date.

He said: “Now a report has been published and such things have been said in it. But if there is a complaint, I am prepared to order an investigation. I want to tell everyone that no one should worry and that no woman who comes with a complaint will face any kind of pressure.”

“We are organising a conclave in the coming months where all the prominent people from the film industry from various disciplines will be invited. There will be in-depth discussions and all burning issues will be discussed,” Cherian said.

The 289-page report by the Hema Committee begins: “The sky is full of mysteries; including the twinkling stars and the beautiful moon. However, scientific research has shown that the stars do not twinkle and the moon does not look beautiful either. That is why the study warns: ‘Don’t trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar’.”

The committee said: “The experiences that many women have had in the film industry are truly shocking and so serious that they did not even tell their immediate family members. Surprisingly, during our investigation we found out that some men had also faced many problems in the industry and that many of them, including some very prominent artists, had been unofficially banned from working in the film industry for quite a long time. It was shocking to know that the only reason for such an unofficial ban was very stupid – they must have done something, consciously or unconsciously, that was not appreciated by someone in the powerful lobby in the industry, someone who rules the industry.”

The report said: “The biggest problem faced by women in the film industry is sexual harassment. This is the biggest evil faced by women in cinema. Most of the women in cinema, who are considered very brutal, hesitate to tell about their bad experiences, especially sexual harassment. They are afraid to tell their colleagues in the cinema. They are afraid that they will have to face the consequences. They are afraid that if they tell their problem to others, they will be banned from the cinema and face other forms of harassment because such people are powerful in the cinema and all the men in the cinema will support the harasser. There will be severe online harassment against them (female actors) on social media through fans and fan clubs. Many witnesses said that they would face a threat to their lives, not only for themselves but also for their close relatives. In this way, they are silenced in the cinema.”

The report further states: “Women working in cinema reported that harassment starts right from the beginning. Statements of several witnesses heard by the commission revealed that whenever the production manager or anyone else first approaches a woman/girl with a proposal for a role in cinema, or when a woman approaches a man for an opportunity in cinema, she is told to ‘adjust’ and ‘compromise’. These are two words very familiar to women in the Malayalam film industry and they are asked to offer themselves for ‘sex on demand’.”

The report said: “There may be cases of consensual sex, but women working in cinemas are generally not willing to share beds to get work in cinemas. Another witness before the committee said that there may be women who are willing to conform to the demands and she has herself seen mothers who believe that there is nothing wrong with this. The witness said that this is a shocking truth. According to women working in cinemas, it is a sad situation that a woman has to give in to sexual demands to get work in cinemas, while there is no such situation in any other field. Many women who testified before the committee pointed this out.”

–IANS

AKJ/