Hema Committee report impact: National Commission for Women seeks release of full report amid sexual harassment allegations

Noting the sexual abuse and harassment allegations of the Hema Committee report, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said it has sought the full report, only parts of which are publicly available. 

In a statement, the woman’s body said, “The Commission is committed to furthering its efforts in addressing these matters with the appropriate authorities to ensure that the rights of women are upheld and that a safe, equitable working environment is fostered within the industry.”  

“… the NCW has taken steps to seek the complete Hema Committee Report, as it appears that only parts of it are currently available in the public domain,” it added. 

On August 27, the 17-member executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movies Artistes (AMMA), including its president and superstar actor Mohanlal, resigned from their posts.  

On August 31, speaking on the Hema Committee report for the first time, veteran actor Mohanlal on August 31 said that he is not part of the “power group” mentioned in the report and the entire Malayalam industry should be held accountable not just AMMA. Mohanlal quit as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) earlier last month. 

The actor welcomed the Hema Committee report and said it was the right decision by the government to release that report. “AMMA alone should not be crucified. A lot of organisations are involved. But only we are facing the questions,” Mohanlal added.  

The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after a case of assault of an actress in 2017. Its report on the Malayalam film industry points to workplace harassment, gender-based discrimination, and other forms of exploitation of women. 

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate them. 

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, on August 30, shared a post by the Voice of Women, welcoming the Hema Committee report and urging the Telangana government to publish the report on sexual harassment in the Telugu film industry. 

The post shared by Samantha on her Instagram story read, “We, the women of the Telugu film industry, welcome the Hema Committee report and applaud the persistent efforts of the WCC [Women in Cinema Collective] in Kerala, which has laid the path to this moment (sic).” 

She also urged similar action from the Telangana government and for the report on sexual harassment to be published. “We hereby urge the Telangana government, to publish the submitted sub-committee report on sexual harassment, which can help frame government and industry policies, to establish a safe working environment for women in the TFI (sic),” the post concluded.