Make Hema Committee Findings Public: NCW's Reminder to Kerala Chief Secretary

NCW chairperson said that even after a month's lapse, its recommendation had not been complied with.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Monday, 2 May, sent a reminder to the Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy to release the findings and recommendations of the Justice Hema Committee to the public.

The Hema committee, which was formed in 2017 and looked into problems faced by women actors in the Malayalam film industry, submitted its report in 2019 based on the depositions of scores of women in the industry. However, the report is not released yet, and its recommendations have not been implemented.

In a letter to Joy, Sharma said that on 22 March 2022, the commission had informed him about making the recommendations and observations of the Hema Committee public without revealing the identity of the victims/survivors.

Sharma further said that even after a month's lapse, the recommendation given by the commission regarding the report had not been complied with.

"You are again reminded to share the recommendations and observations of the Justice Hema Committee report with the public at the earliest," she said.

The Kerala government had said that the report could not be made public as it contained the personal experiences of several women in the industry.

However, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a group of women professionals in the film industry, wants the report to be made public without revealing the identity of the victims/survivors.

Actor Parvathy Thiruvoth, a key face of the WCC, had recently said that "several idols would be broken" if the report of the Justice Hema Committee came out.

"Let us wait for the election time. Suddenly, the report would come out. It is my prediction. Suddenly, it is going to be a women-friendly government. If the report comes out, several idols, who we are worshipping, would be broken," Parvathy said as per The Indian Express, adding, "...apparently, our lives are more dispensable than we thought. Their power, position, and egos are more important."

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)