WCC urges CM to protect privacy of women in Hema Committee report
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Members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) met with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday urging the government to act on the findings of the Hema Committee report and to ensure the privacy of women who shared their experiences with the committee.
The Hema Committee, formed in 2017 following a brutal sexual assault on a woman actor, was tasked with investigating issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
The WCC's request comes in light of the government's decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the findings of the report. This followed a Kerala High Court directive for the government to hand over the complete report, including audio recordings, to the SIT and for the team to report on actions taken against identifiable offenses, reported The News Minute.
In their letter to the Chief Minister, the WCC emphasized the need for confidentiality regarding the testimonies shared with the committee. They also urged the government to bring the Malayalam film industry under the jurisdiction of the POSH Act (Prevention of Sexual Harassment), ensuring that film sets establish Internal Committees (ICs) for addressing sexual harassment complaints, as mandated by a previous court ruling.
The WCC further requested the reconstitution of the 27-member monitoring committee, initially formed under the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, as a statutory committee led by a woman president and with a majority of female members, in line with POSH Act guidelines.
Additionally, the WCC praised the Kerala State Film Development Corporation’s initiative to fund women filmmakers and urged the government to allocate more funds for these projects, ensuring women's involvement in all stages of production. They also highlighted the importance of providing more opportunities for women to study in film schools, including scholarships and fee concessions, and called for women to hold key positions in government film-related projects.
The WCC is preparing a detailed report that incorporates insights from the Hema Committee report, the Adoor Committee report, and the Shift Focus document, which they compiled with the women's organization Sakhi. These recommendations will also contribute to the film policy currently being developed by the government.
The Hema Committee report, submitted in December 2019, was made public in August 2023 after repeated demands and a High Court order. Following its release, several women from the industry came forward with accounts of harassment. The Kerala High Court recently criticized the government for its delay in acting on the report's findings.