Opinion | Hema Committee Report: Can Kerala Government Rise Above Lip Service?

On Sunday, actor and producer Siddique resigned from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Within hours, noted Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith stepped down as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy. Both men resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment and assault which came up against them in the wake of the explosive revelations of the Justice Hema Committee Report.

The 290-page report, released last week, exposes the rampant sexual abuse of women in the Malayalam film industry, as also their terrible working conditions. It details the impunity with which the industry's overwhelmingly male power structure exploits women actors and others, secure in the knowledge that the victims will not dare to complain or protest for fear of reprisals. Needless to say, activists are jubilant that in this iniquitous and toxic ecosystem, two influential men suddenly found themselves publicly accused of sexual misconduct, and, therefore, had to step down from their lofty positions. 

Just Another Blip In History?

However, damning as the Justice Hema Committee Report is, will it lead to substantive changes within the Kerala film industry so women who work in it are not coerced into providing sexual favours to the powers-that-be, nor treated like second-class citizens without access to equal rights? Or will the findings get buried under the weight of institutional apathy, and reforms, if any, simply fail to get off the ground?

The trajectory of the report itself does not seem encouraging. In 2017, the Kerala government set up a three-member committee headed by Justice K. Hema to examine the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. The move came after a leading actress in the industry was sexually assaulted in a moving car, allegedly at the behest of a prominent actor. Soon after this, a group of women from the industry came together to form the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). It was largely due to the efforts of this group that the state government took the initiative of setting up the Justice Hema Committee. 

Kerala Government's Questionable Actions

But from there on, the Kerala government's conduct became perplexing, to say the least. The panel, which interviewed a large number of men and women from the industry, including actors, directors, producers, scriptwriters, make-up artists and so on, was ready with its report as early as December 2019. However, the government refused to publish it, arguing that it contained "sensitive information'' and could violate the privacy of certain individuals. It is only now, almost five years later, that a court order has ensured the report's release, albeit with several redacted portions to protect the identity of the alleged perpetrators and victims of sexual abuse.

One look at the salient features of the report and you know that several people must have been extremely keen to keep it under wraps. The picture that emerges from it is that of a film industry controlled by a cabal of powerful male actors, directors and producers who routinely subject women - be they actors, technicians or other professionals - to sexual harassment and exploitation. They are told to "adjust" and "compromise', euphemisms for agreeing to provide sex when demanded. Indeed, the entire industry seems to be actuated by an odious patriarchal belief that if a woman has chosen to make a career in show business, she is sexually available. And if she hopes to succeed, she had better be ready to sexually indulge those who are in a position to give her work. 

The panel also found that the women in the industry are poorly paid and often denied contractual safeguards. The junior artists, especially, are treated like slaves, says the report, and not provided with basic facilities like toilets and changing rooms. 

Silent, Fearful, Cowed

And yet, barely a word is spoken against this systemic culture of abuse. If a woman does raise her voice against the injustice and the relentless sexual harassment that goes on in the Malayalam film industry, she finds work drying up and is viciously trolled on social media. The intimidation can be so extreme that she may even fear for her life. Naturally, this ensures that most women in the industry remain silent, fearful and cowed.

Despite this grim exposure, and despite the public outcry against it, the Pinarayi Vijayan government initially refused to take suo motu action against the perpetrators whose names have come up in the report. Instead, it said that it would initiate proceedings against the individuals if and when a woman lodges a formal complaint with the police.

This was a problematic decision, since most women in this country are reluctant to go public with complaints of sexual abuse. However, reacting to the political storm that has erupted following the publication of the report and criticism that it was trying to protect certain important men, late on Sunday, the government set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.

Let The Report Not Be So Easy To Ignore

It's certainly a start. But it remains to be seen whether the SIT's findings translate into some concrete action on the ground. When the #MeToo movement was tearing through India back in 2018, several prominent men, including Bollywood actors such as Nana Patekar, Alok Nath and others, were called out as sexual predators. Nothing much came of those charges eventually. 

The Justice Hema Committee Report ought to be much harder to sweep under the carpet, since it is an exhaustive and meticulous exposé; of the pervasive culture of economic discrimination and sexual exploitation of women in an entire industry. Indeed, the report offers a real opportunity to not just hold the guilty to account, but also to put in place laws, structures, and safeguards to make the industry a safe, humane and gender-just workplace for women.

Will the government of Kerala rise to the challenge? Or will it merely pay lip service and wait to ride out the storm, so everyone can go back to business as usual within and outside the Malayalam film industry?

(Shuma Raha is a journalist and author)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author