Revive Hema panel soon, demand rights activists

KOCHI: Given the raging AMMA controversy, a group of rights activists has demanded immediate steps to revive the Justice Hema Committee. They allege the government has abandoned the three-member fact-finding panel constituted to study issues faced by women in the film industry.  It indicates the government's apathetic attitude towards the rights of women film workers.

"Though the Cabinet had on June 14, 2017, decided to constitute the panel headed by retired Kerala High Court Justice K. Hema and actor Sarada and former bureaucrat K.B. Valsalakumari as members, it failed to start functioning. Based on complaints, the government finalised its terms of reference in December. However, the committee remains defunct," said Aneesh Prabhakaran of Manushyavakasha Koottayma.

In November, a group of writers and human rights activists had submitted a memorandum to the government asking to publish a statement on the working status of the committee following which it set the terms of reference. A meeting of the organisation demanded that a public inquiry should be conducted to expose the human rights violations and exploitations of women in the film industry. "Even the Supreme Court order on protecting women from sexual harassment at workplace is blatantly violated here," he said.