Malayalam actors Revathy and Rima Kallingal met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with the other members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to discuss the Justice Hema Committee report. They were also joined by editor Beena Paul and director Deedi Damodaran, who are also a part of WCC. On its offiial Instagram handle, WCC shared a picture from their meeting with the CM and revealed what all they discussed.
“We have conveyed our deep concern to the Chief Minister that the terms of reference of the SIT (Special Investigation Team) formed in the wake of the release of the Hema Commission report should be made available, as the need to protect the privacy of the women who gave statements and the confidentiality of their statements is very important,” the note read. It mentioned that during the meeting, Kerala CM extended the support to provide legal aid for the women who testified before the Hema Committee.
Mentioning what else was discussed in the meeting, WCC added, “We also pointed out the possibility of including the Department of Women and Child Welfare in IC related issues in cinema, as in other workplaces, and the need to reorganize the IC Monitoring Committee in such a way that it receives serious attention from the government, and the need to provide proper awareness about the IC.”
“We stressed the need to give equal space to the views and ideas of women in policy making. We have called for an increase in the Film Fund for Directors and the need for a revised roadmap for the utilization of this fund, taking into account the experiences of women who have made films using the fund earlier, with a definite pro-women approach, led by women,” it continued.
WCC also explained to CM the need to provide fee concession or scholarship to girls who get admission in film schools so that more women can get opportunities in the industry.
“The first part of the WCC suggestions that the government should take the initiative and implement urgently in the wake of the Hema Committee report (including the Cinema Code of Conduct (CCC)) and the study report on women in the industry conducted by the WCC with the Sakhi Resource Centre on the five film industries in India, were submitted to the Chief Minister seeking further action,” the note concluded.
This comes a week after the Kerala High Court also lashed out at the state government for its alleged ‘inaction’ over the findings of the Justice Hema Committee Report.
Last month, the findings of the Justice Hema Committee Report were made public which left everyone shocked. The report explored the working conditions for women in the Malayalam film industry and shed light on several alleged cases of sexual harassment or assault. As of now, FIRs have been registered against several film personalities including Mukesh, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Nivin Pauly, Maniyan Pillai Raju, directors Ranjith, V. K. Prakash, production executives Vichu and Noble.
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