Parvathy Thiruvothu slams Kerala CM over inaction on Hema Committee report: ‘Can we focus on the actual reason?’

The Justice Hema Committee Report, which was released last year, created ripples for highlighting the widespread and persistent sexual harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry. On Monday, actor Parvathy Thiruvothu called out the administration’s delay in implementing necessary steps to address the cases that were detailed by the report and tagged Kerala CM in her Instagram Stories. (Also read: Parvathy Thiruvothu on Justice Hema Committee Report findings: ‘It took so many years’)

What Parvathy wrote

Taking to her Instagram Stories, Parvathy tagged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. She went on to add, “Now can we focus on the ACTUAL reason this committee was formed? Putting policies in place to help make regulations in the industry? What is happening with that? No rush, eh? It’s only been five and a half years since the report was submitted.”

Cases being dropped?

On June 3, a report from The Hindu stated that the Kerala Police decided to drop the cases which had come up from the Hema Committee report which had detailed sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry. “According to official sources, despite repeated summons by both the SIT and the court, the survivors declined to provide statements in connection with the cases,” added the report.

The Hema Committee report put the spotlight on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry and came with shocking accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment being faced by women.

The report stated that female actors faced harassment, including instances where the doors of their rooms were knocked on by intoxicated individuals in the film industry. In fact, many of the women expressed reluctance to complain due to fear. It also reported a lack of basic amenities such as toilets for women, adding that junior artists are treated ‘worse than slaves in Malayalam cinema’.