Abuse, resignations, power nexus: Everything about Kerala’s #MeToo crisis
A spate of #MeToo stories have surfaced from the Malayalam film industry since the release of the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the regional cinema. FIRs related to sexual assault have been lodged against at least four prominent actors of the industry.
The Kerala High Court has ordered the state government to submit the entire report with the names and evidence in a sealed cover. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the government will take strong action against the misogyny and illegal practices and has announced a Special Investigation Team to initiate preliminary investigations.
But before delving into the Pandora’s box that has opened up amid demands for accountability, what triggered all of this?
What is Hema Committee report?
The Hema Committee Report is a 290-page document released by the Kerala government on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. It documents the rampant sexual harassment, abysmal working conditions, inefficiency of redressal mechanisms, and possible solutions for women in the film industry.
The report was redacted to protect the privacy of survivors by removing any identifiers and names of perpetrators. Eleven paragraphs that were not included in the information officer’s list for publishing were redacted. But it acknowledges how women have not only suffered trauma but have also been scared of speaking up. The consequences reportedly included fearing for their lives, getting banned from the industry, and being subjected to further harassment. Watch here.
Trigger behind the report
It all started seven years ago, on February 17, 2017. A top female actor was abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of six criminals. An investigation revealed that the men might have been hired by a Malayalam superstar actor named Dileep, who is now accused of orchestrating and conspiring to abuse the female actor.
Last month, we published an 11-chapter story on the night of the crime and its ripple effects across the state for the years to come. Read the subscriber-only report here.
When the news of this crime exploded in Kerala, other women actors came together in solidarity with the survivor. However, they soon realised that this was not a one-off incident. The crime caused many women to come out and detail their stories of trauma. #Avalkoppam, meaning ‘With her’, began trending on social media.
This Weinstein-scale revolution in Kerala began months before the global #MeToo movement. Many men resisted the feminist revolution, and quite a few called the campaign a big, hysterical performance. Mohanlal, one of Kerala’s most revered actors and president of the AMMA, called the #MeToo movement a “trend”.
In May 2017, just months after the crime, a group of 14 women from the Malayalam film industry met and submitted a memorandum to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding safe work spaces, better wages, and redressal cells. That’s when they formed the Women in Cinema Collective, or WCC — a first of its kind association in India.
Months after it was formed, the WCC representatives said in 2018 that there were “lots and lots of stories in the closet”, while prominent people in the industry did not take a stand, backed an accused, and made films with them.
In response to the outrage, the Kerala government formed the Hema Committee under the chairmanship of a retired judge named Justice K Hema. The intention was to listen, document, and suggest reforms for women in the industry.
For the women of Kerala, this was a significant moment – they had a voice, they were being heard, their pain was being considered “news”, and the state government was promising to address their concerns through the Hema Committee.
Woman after woman sat in front of the three-bench panel and revisited their trauma. At the end of 2019, a 5,000-page report, which reflected on the experiences of nearly 40 women, was submitted to the Chief Minister.
Buried by Kerala govt till August 19
Dileep’s case had triggered one of the most subversive feminist movements in India. And the dream that women across the world were seeing was potentially going to turn into reality in Kerala. It seemed like the state would now live to witness the grand fall of abusive, powerful men. Except, as soon as the report was submitted, it was duly buried.
Despite activists and journalists demanding that the report be tabled in the Kerala assembly, Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan refused to do so. The state government cited the privacy of women and that the findings of the report were too “huge” as reasons for not releasing it.
Finally, in May 2022, the government released a one-and-a-half page document that summarises the recommendations of the committee. But it was such a vague document that it said essentially nothing.
The Kerala Left Front government’s decision to drag its feet on the report raised a question – who were these men who were being protected and why?
Finally this year, on August 19, five years after it was compiled, a redacted version of the Hema Committee report was released.
Details in the report
Despite not revealing the names of any perpetrators, the report is a monumental document that records how young women were expected to offer themselves up for sex on demand, how a group of powerful men called the ‘mafia’ controls the entire industry, and how women feared for their lives if they ever spoke up about their trauma.
There are references in the report that potentially suggest that even minor girls may have been targeted. The report refers to the industry as a boys club where women are entirely suppressed. It reveals power abuse, harassment, and manipulation in Malayalam cinema. Read here.
Continued fallout, a series of sexual assault allegations
The WCC welcomed its report’s release. So did the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, or AMMA, which has over 500 members from the industry.
In fact, actor Siddique, who was the general secretary of AMMA, said that until the report came out, the association – led by some of the most powerful men in the industry – was not aware of the situation faced by women. He also said that police action must be taken against all those accused by the committee. The statements came about two weeks after the Hema Committee report was released.
Ironically, within hours of his statement, actor Revathy Sampath pointed out that she had accused Siddique of sexual assault in 2019. No action was taken at the time, neither by AMMA nor the police.
With the Hema Committee report now hanging over their heads, public pressure quickly mounted, and Siddique resigned from AMMA. He then filed a case against Revathy Sampath and called the accusations a part of a larger conspiracy. Now, he has been booked under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Subsequently, the AMMA was forced to respond. Its president, Mohanlal, along with 17 other executive committee members, tendered their mass resignations.
In a statement, AMMA said, “In the context of the sexual harassment accusations levelled against some of the officials of the administrative committee of AMMA in the media after the release of the Hema committee report, the existing administrative committee of AMMA has decided to resign, accepting moral responsibility. A meeting of the general body will be held within two months, and the new administrative committee will be elected.”
In the meantime, director Ranjith was accused of misbehaving with a Bengali actor, Sreelekha Mithra, during the audition of a 2009 Malayalam film. He too resigned as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, but also denied the allegations and claimed they were politically motivated. He has been booked under sections 354 and 354 B (sexual assault) of the IPC.
Malayalam actor Jayasurya and Kollam CPIM MLA and actor M Mukesh have also been booked in separate cases for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman.
Jayasurya has been booked under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC, while Mukesh has been charged under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
(Sign language interpretation in the video by Manisha Sharma.)
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