"Committees alone won't help, Union govt must take a big step": Gayathri Raghuram on Hema Committee report

Chennai: Tamil actor and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) women's wing deputy secretary Gayathri Raghuram on Thursday lauded the initiative of the Kerala government in bringing out the Justice Hema Committee report that highlighted alleged instances of sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry.
She also advocated for increased reperesentation of women in all bodies "so every union must have parent body which has 50 per cent of women and 50 per cent of male."
The Malayalam film industry is currently embroiled in controversy following sexual harassment allegations made by actresses against several prominent figures in the industry.
Speaking to ANI, the actor-politician said, "I would like to say it is not only happening in Mollywood. First of all, I do not like to address it as Mollywood and separate the industry from other Indian industries like Bollywood. So I think we should be one. It is one Indian cinema industry. So in that way, they have formed a nice committee called Hema committee and they have been taking lot of reports and they have received a lot of complaints and big, big names have been named. So I think it is a great initiative by the government and they are taking a great step because the women cannot come out today freely and work freely.There are some women who fought bravely, some lost their opportunities. This is the time when reservation for women should be brought."
Praising the initiative of the committee, she said, "So this committee is actually very important. At the same time, I will say women's reservation must be brought up. 33 per cent of women's reservations must be brought up. The women have to gain their rights. So with these kind of rights only we can actually speak up today."
"Back in the period, we had women Chief Ministers, but today we only have Mamata Banerjee. Today, we don't have women leadership who can protect women. Today only powerful men are sitting in power places. We saw how Prajwal Revanna was escaping the law for a long time, Brij Bhushan was also escaping the law -because of the powerful who have been protecting them. We saw how the rapists of Bilkis Bano were protected."
Further, Gayathri Raghuram said, "When it comes to Me Too movement, what happens is like, you know, when we speak about Me Too movement, it is being a topic for some time. And then it becomes a troll movement for some time. And then it becomes, oh, women are like that, they keep complaining. And that's how the male-dominating society looks at it and they kind of push it under the rug."
"Today, the entire Tamil Nadu industry is under control of the DMK, so it is very difficult for anyone to go and complain. So this only solution for this could be in the parent body. Instead of only having committees, the parent body must have 50 per cent of women in the union. So every union must have parent body which has 50 per cent of women and 50 per cent of male. Only then the women's rights can be heard, women's voice can be heard, and whatever we need to be, representation, women representation. It's very much important for the entire country. And I hope the government takes a big step and brings the 33 percent of women's reservation to the country."
Earlier this month, a redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry was made public. It contains accounts alleging harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of women professionals.
The report, published after redacting the names of witnesses and the accused, notes that the Malayalam film industry is controlled by about 10 to 15 male producers, directors, and actors who dominate and exert control over the industry.
The report of the three-member panel headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court and set up by the state government in 2017, was submitted to the Pinarayi-led Kerala government in December 2019 and made public only this month.
The government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the hardships faced by women in the industry.
Kerala Police said that the Special Investigation Team held a meeting at the police headquarters on Tuesday.
"The SIT has been strengthened by including additional women officers. All related cases registered at local police stations are to be handed over to the SIT for further investigation," a Kerala Police release said.