The decision of the Kerala government to form a special investigation team with four women IPS officers and launch an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and abuses in the Malayalam film industry is a welcome step in many ways. It will primarily instill confidence among the women actors who shared their bitter experiences with the Justice (Rtd) Hema Committee, which in its report established that filmdom in the progressive state still carried vestiges of its feudal past with the showmen calling every shot. The aggressors and abusers need to be brought before the law, and a proper police investigation meeting the rigours of the law is a necessary condition for it.
The state government virtually slept on the recommendations of the Justice (Rtd) Hema Committee which listed instances of sexual abuses and called for decisive governmental interventions including legal measures to end crass exploitations of people in the industry. It had a draft legislation which provided for extending the labour rights available elsewhere in the state to the world of filmmaking. It even called for setting up a tribunal for the victims of injustice to complain.
The Commission, in its report finalised on December 31, 2019, had recommended ensuring privacy of not just the victims but also of the alleged aggressors as the latter had no opportunity to defend themselves since the committee was formed to study the issues of the sector, and not to investigate them. It is inexplicable that the government took it as a ruse and did not publish the report, nor acted on it.
The government action follows the publication of a redacted version of the report after prolonged legal fight, and the public outcry seeking action. The publication also opened the floodgates of allegations against prominent figures in the industry and they have already claimed the scalps of two persons who helmed two important institutions.
Kerala has been a pioneer in ensuring human dignity and basic rights. The latest developments should prod it into introspecting whether it still hosts Augean stables of feudalistic characteristics, and take the corrective steps.
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