The Justice Hema Commission set up to look into the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry has stated that women artistes as well as technicians have to put up with blatant instances of sexual harassment .

The Commission, headed by retired judge of the Kerala High Court Justice K Hema and comprising nation award winning actress Sharda and ex-bureaucrat, submitted its report to the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday. The report is said to have stressed on the need for proper legislation to tackle the issues and suggested that a panel be set up headed by a judge to suggest ways and means to tame the menace. After submitting the report, she said there are serious problems in the film industry and a proper legislation was needed to address some of these issues. She suggested many measures including setting up of a tribunal headed by a district judge to address these issues.

The Commission was set up in 2017 after the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) approached the Chief Minister seeking that be set up to look into issues faced by the women artists in the industry. The committee’s mandate was to look into issues ranging from pay parity to harassment at shooting locations and lack of facilities for women including the lack of restrooms and toilet facilities, the committee is expected to look into matters affecting women in the industry. The WCC petitioned the chief minister after the rape of a famous Malayalam film actress in a moving car in Kochi in the wee hours of a February morning as she was returning from a shooting assignment in Trissur, about 80 kms away.

—India Legal Bureau