The much-awaited Hema Committee report headed by the former Kerala High Court Judge K. Hema constituted in the wake of the sexual assault of an actor in 2017 was eventually released on Monday, August 19. The report sheds light on the widespread and persistent sexual harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry. Many alleged that the women were subjected to unwanted advances even before commencing the work. Faced with many years of delay and objection, the report has finally been made public. The actor and general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), Siddique initially said he was dutybound to respond to the report and would indeed respond but needed time to study as he was busy travelling. Similarly, actor Baburaj too shared his response to the Hema Committee Report and asked for some time to understand the issue.
While talking to the media, actor Baburaj said that he needs to read the report to understand the basis of allegations against the Malayalam industry. He said that he could comment only after studying in detail. After the Hema committee report was released, the actor met the media along with the secretary of the Amma organization Siddique.
“Understand what is going on. After that, we will do what we can. In the report, it has been said that the junior artist. I also came as a junior artist. So, after learning and understanding what happened, we will respond.” said actor Baburaj while talking to the media.
The much-awaited report of the Justice Hema Committee, the government-appointed panel in 2019 that studied issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, comprises explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment being faced by women. The expert panel has accused the well-known and reputed men who have allegedly shocked certain women in cinema with sexual harassment and physical advances made by them towards them. It also included junior artists. Other allegations include the untimely knock on the door of female artists by the intoxicated male actors.
A copy of the report was given to the media under the RTI Act after five years of its submission to the government.
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