The government is not in a position to publish the full report submitted by former judge of Kerala High Court K. Hema, who had been engaged to look into workplace issues and sexual exploitation in Malayalam film industry, Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian has said.
He was replying to a submission in the Assembly on Thursday by K.K. Rema, who said that for a government which claimed to be gender-sensitive, it was doing a great disservice to the cause of women by continuing to keep under its wraps an inquiry report submitted by Justice Hema Commission.
It was common knowledge that women in cinema, to whom Ms. Hema had spoken, had made many startling revelations on the inside workings of an industry, which seemed to exploit women in many ways, Ms. Rema said.
Mr. Cherian said the Hema commission had not been included within the jurisdiction of the Commissions of Inquiry Act.
Ms. Hema had asked the government to maintain the confidentiality of the report, as it contained very personal information of many women in Malayalam cinema and their narration of the exploitation they had to suffer in the industry, he said.
However, the government had taken cognisance of the serious issues faced by women in Malayalam cinema and believed that a comprehensive legislation was imperative to put an end to the exploitation.
The government was working on such a legislation, which would be placed for discussion in the Assembly in the forthcoming sessions, Mr. Cherian said.
The government was already working towards the implementation of the recommendations made by the commission. Detailed discussions had been held by the government in July 2021 itself regarding this.
The date had also been fixed for a meeting with all stakeholders in the industry, including Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), to discuss the said recommendations of the commission, on the way forward, Mr. Cherian said.
