Women in Cinema Collective Appeals to Kerala CM for Privacy Protection

The Women in Cinema Collective has written an open letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking his intervention to protect the privacy of women who testified before the Justice K Hema Committee. They accused a TV channel of airing these private statements, which has caused mental distress.

The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a group of female professionals in the Malayalam film industry, has requested Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's intervention to protect the privacy of women who testified before the Justice K Hema Committee.

In an open letter posted on their official Facebook page, the WCC accused a private Malayalam television channel of broadcasting reports based on the confidential statements made by women film professionals to the government-appointed panel.

The group expressed concern over the 'irresponsible media trial' being conducted by the channel, which they claim is compromising the privacy and causing mental anguish to the women involved.

The WCC stated that the broadcast of these private testimonies has raised suspicions about the intentions of individuals with access to the committee's report.

They also highlighted that the news reports are enabling the public to identify the survivors easily, thus invading their privacy.

The letter emphasized that this breach of privacy is unjust and called on the Chief Minister to take immediate action to halt this 'news attack'.

The Justice K Hema Committee was formed following the 2017 actress assault case to investigate allegations of harassment and exploitation within the Malayalam film industry.

Subsequent allegations against various actors and directors led the Kerala government to announce the formation of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the cases.

(With inputs from agencies.)