Thiruvananthapuram: Following the decision by the Kerala State Information Commission (SIC) to publish the Hema Committee report on the problems women face in the film industry, including sexual harassment, the Women for Cinema Collective (WCC) welcomed it on Sunday. The SIC had directed the publication of the report, removing details affecting the privacy of individuals, as per the Right to Information Act, The News Minute reported.
WCC released a note which read, “The order that breaks the long and disappointing silence indeed gives hope to all of us who have been relentlessly striving to break through.”
Formed in 2017 following the abduction and sexual assault of a female actor in Kerala, WCC has been fighting for the release of the report for years. It approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to investigate the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
After this, a committee was formed under the chair of Justice K Hema, and its findings included women narrating their traumatic experiences. The operation wasn’t easy for the committee, and the findings were never published.
WCC said in the statement, “Suggesting to implement solutions without revealing the findings was an exercise of mockery of the system. Hence, we strongly believe that this move (by the SIC) to reveal the findings with accountability can be an authentic basis for real solutions, change, and process.”
Though the Hema Committee submitted the government report in 2019, what was published after that was a two-page document that listed the committee’s recommendations and the formation of a three-member panel to implement them, which was delayed too.
In 2022, following their first discussion after the recommendations were released, WCC said that the recommendations were vague and disappointing.
Welcoming the SIC order, WCC said that such a study could effectively address gender imbalances and unjust practices prevailing in the Malayalam film industry.
“May this be a starting point to rewrite existing injustice in the industry and bring about more gender-inclusive and balanced workspaces,” the WCC said.
In the note, WCC hopes that survivors are served justice and can work without fear, discrimination or exploitation at their workplaces.