Hema Committee report kicks up political storm in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the shocking harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, sparked a political storm in Kerala on Tuesday.

While the opposition parties criticised the Left government for its silence and inaction over the past four years, despite receiving the report, the government affirmed its support for the victims.

The Congress-led UDF questioned whether the government had kept the report confidential to shield the accused and alleged the Pinarayi Vijayan government was siding with the 'hunters' rather than the hapless victims.

Coming down heavily on the government and Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan, the BJP charged they had failed to take any legal action against the accused despite receiving information about the crimes committed by the them.

However, the government rejected the charges and made it clear that they had already started measures to implement the recommendations and suggestions made by the Committee.

"The government is always with the victims...and with the women community," Saji Cheriyan told reporters here.

Stating that no particular name has been heard in connection with the report, the minister said it was the High Court and the Information Commission that had decided which portions were to be released.

Cheriyan said the government would discuss all aspects of the report and would take further action in the necessary areas.

"It was Justice Hema who had first said that the report should not have been published because of its confidential nature," the minister said, adding that a proposed cinema conclave, to be organised by the government, would discuss all these issues.

However, the minister's reply didn't go down well with the opposition Congress and BJP, which raised suspicions about whether the government had kept the report confidential so far to protect the accused.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan alleged the government was trying to protect the privacy of the accused and asked the authorities to register a case based on the Hema Committee report.

"Sexual exploitation, including assaults under the POCSO Act, had happened. Still, the Cultural Affairs Minister is saying that a film conclave will be held to discuss the issues," Satheesan told reporters in Chempazhanthy near here.

Let the people of the state evaluate a cultural affairs minister who speaks about conducting a conclave when such serious offences have been reported, he added.

Senior BJP leader and former union minister V Muraleedharan attacked Cheriyan and said the cultural affairs minister had also become part of the crime by not taking any action over the report so far.

"Saji Cheriyan has no moral right to continue in his position. The Vijayan government has failed to protect the rights of women and children and ensure safe living conditions in the state," he told a press conference here.

When reporters sought his reaction, actor-turned-politician and Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar said he didn't read the report but was sure the government would take necessary action in this regard.

"No one in the film industry has complained to me so far. If anyone comes to me with such an issue, I would have raised my voice for them," he said.

While senior CPI(M) leader K K Shailaja wanted stringent laws and comprehensive reforms in the film industry to curb such crimes against women, CPI(M) central committee member A K Balan indicated the government's legal limitations in registering cases based on the report.

The shocking revelations of the Hema Committee report on harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry evoked strong reactions across society, with demands for stringent actions to ensure a safe working atmosphere and equal treatment for women professionals.

"Based on the suggestions of the Hema Committee, the Women's Commission will recommend to the government to take the necessary steps to ensure grievance redressal committees as per the POSH Act in shooting sets," women's panel chief P Sathi Devi said on Monday.

POSH Act stands for Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Welcoming the release of the report, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an outfit of women professionals in the industry, expressed hope that the government would take all necessary steps to study and act upon the recommendations. The WCC has been pressing for a long time to address the issues being faced by women in the Malayalam film industry and seek necessary interventions by the government to ensure gender equality there.

"It has been a long journey for us! We believed that our fight for justice for all women wanting a dignified professional space in the film industry was the right fight...We stand vindicated. Publication of the Hema Committee report is another step that WCC has taken," it said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The much-awaited report, released on Monday, has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry and alleged that a "criminal gang" was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out.

The Kerala government constituted the panel after the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.