At a time when questions are being raised about the delay in implementing the Justice Hema Commission report to address issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, the State government has decided to organise a meeting of various film organisations to discuss its implementation.
The meeting is set to be held from 10 a.m on May 4 at the Government Guesthouse or Mascot Hotel in the capital.
The Cultural Affairs department will be organising the meeting, with the Minister for Cultural Affairs expected to take part in the introductory session. The meeting will discuss the recommendations put forward by the commission. The responses of the film bodies, including those representing actors, producers, and technicians, will be consolidated, based on which the implementation will be done.
Though the meeting was planned earlier, it is being organised at a time when yet another high profile case of an alleged sexual assault is being reported from the Malayalam film industry.
Late on Tuesday night, news broke that the Ernakulam South Police have registered a case of rape against producer and actor Vijay Babu. A young woman actor raised allegations that the producer had intoxicated her and sexually assaulted her.
Mr. Babu, who is absconding, meanwhile appeared on a Facebook live, called himself the victim and revealed the complainant's name, over which another case was also filed.
The Hema Commission, constituted in the aftermath of the case involving the abduction and sexual assault of a female actor, in which actor Dileep is an accused, had submitted the report to the Chief Minister on December 31, 2019. However, the contents of the report have not yet been made public nor has the report been implemented.
On Tuesday, following the case against Mr.Babu, the Women in Cinema Collective, which has been raising its voice for the report’s implementation, said in a Facebook post that “while committees come and go, more such incidents continue to happen”.
“Crimes are being perpetrated here under the guise of professional equations and professional space. An accused’s public shaming of a complainant is deplorable and punishable by law. Flaunting his presence online without turning himself into the judicial process seems to be an attempt to mock the judicial system. Hope the Malayalam film industry will condemn these acts and clean up the workspace for women by distancing perpetrators,” the WCC statement said.
The government has faced flak from various quarters for the delay in implementing the report. At the closing ceremony of the 26th International Film Festival of Kerala, writer T.Padmanabhan, who was the chief guest, said the future generations would not forgive the government if it did not take steps to implement it.
Mr.Cherian, who was present at the ceremony, said the government would take immediate steps to implement the report and frame a law to address these issues.
In January, the government had constituted a three-member panel to examine and formulate an implementation plan for the commission report. However, the panel is not known to have made any recommendation.
