So, the AMMA vanishes.

Letting out one last enormous lie (sigh) that it was taking ‘moral responsibility’ for the allegations of sexual violence and harassment against the shameless men that it protected , the monster passed, with all the executive members resigning together. A new executive committee will be elected two months later by the general body, they said.

So, this is what a revolution feels like. Five years back, the same AMMA looked like an impregnable fortress. The Women in Cinema Collective seemed to be banging their heads against hard granite bulwarks. But then, the WCC turned out like the termites that went on gnawing at the dead tyrant’s staff. Yes, the Malayalam cinema establishment was already dead, completely rotten, and the AMMA was merely an exterior that hid its inward hollowness. The termites gnawed the staff till it broke into pieces from within. And finally, the staff, and the rotten corpse that it supported, collapsed. The truth is that we want to dance though the entire masculinist establishment and all its hangers-on seem to be petrified.

But then termites are mighty builders too, and they build the most intricate castles and palaces from mere mud. So can we.

We want to rouse our government, at least from its state of shock, and remind it that it needs to act now, and act fast. It owes its existence to the citizens of Kerala, and not to the petty feudatories who were in power in Malayalam cinema. It needs to listen to the voice of women demanding that it take seriously the recommendations of the Hema Committee Report. A serious public discussion on them — as well as their implementation — that seeks to draw the government’s attention needs to be generated now.

It is in this spirit that Althea Women’s Collective, based in Thiruvananthapuram, puts forward the following demands and suggestions to the Labour Department, Kerala. I am posting it here so that the discussion can benefit from inputs from outside Kerala:

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DRAFT OF THE PETITION TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR AND SKILLS, KERALA

ALTHEA WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE, TRIVANDRUM

27 AUG. 2024

The Hema Committee report observed four distinct if related kinds of issues that women workers face in the Malayalam cinema industry. They are:

1. Discrimination

2. Exploitation

3. Sexual harassment/violence

4. Retribution

The three have to be addressed separately while their intermeshing in the real world of the industry should be recognized.

Besides these, the very real plight of ‘banned workers’ – women who have complained and now being forced to pay a price through the denial of work opportunities – must be addressed. This is classified under ‘Retribution’.

1. But before, the status of cinema as not merely a field of ‘art’ but an industry where products are produced through human labour and these are granted market-value (of different degrees), and made available in the market, should be emphasized. Of course, such an understanding of cinema does exist already, but given the fact that the Hema Committee report (HCR from now) reveals the extent to which it is refused blatantly in practice, it needs to be firmly re-emphasized. Therefore the authorities must publicly confirm the status of Malayalam cinema industry (MCI from now) to be a profit-oriented, labour-utilising industry over and above all its other characterisations.

Historically speaking, the above three forms of oppression are common to all women workers over the centuries in capitalist workplaces in India and the world over. It appears from the HCR that women workers in the MCI, at least the lowest strata of such workers, are akin to, or even worse than, the general situation of unorganised and informal women workers in Kerala.

Therefore the public announcement of cinema in Kerala as essentially an industry must be made in clear terms by the authorities.

 Though the HCI recommends a tribunal, a comprehensive policy for the film industry and so on, and is not in favour of internal committees (ICs) in film projects, we strongly feel that women workers in the industry cannot be left to the tender mercies of the powerful in the industry till these bodies are actually set up. The law of the land which protects women workers – the POSH Act – must be used to protect these women, and ICs need to be formed taking into consideration the extant circumstances. We feel that this is eminently possible. The following demands are made in this spirit. As citizens of India aware of our rights and as feminists committed to women’s full citizenship, we request the Labour Department, Government of Kerala, to consider our demands with utmost seriousness.

(By ‘women’, we refer to both cis- and trans-women equally)

2.   Discrimination

Once the above-mentioned clarification about the status of the MCI is made, it becomes self-evident that all feudal practices contrary to the spirit of free enterprise must be immediately ended and declared invalid. Discrimination in MCI is the effect of long-standing feudal cultures that have shaped it historically.

— The gross wage discrimination against women highlighted by the HCI should be immediately ended through transparent work contracts. Equal wages must be granted for equal work. Also, special effort needs to be made to ensure fair and equal opportunities for women in the MCI.

— To ensure the second aim, thirty per cent of the work opportunities except in acting roles, must be reserved for women, with a special sub-quota for transwomen.

— A website from which women workers may obtain information about work opportunities in the industry freely must be set up by the Labour Department. Producers must be made to mandatorily post the available job opportunities on the website with full details of each position regarding responsibilities, work duration, remuneration, qualifications, duration of experience and so on. They should receive applications from women workers and select a certain minimum number (specified by the Labour Department) from among applicants who meet the qualifications and possess the necessary experience. If unable to find suitable workers from the applicants, the producer must offer credible reasons, which must be accessible to the public via the Right to Information Act. This is the practice in all academic institutions, and has worked smoothly enough there.

— Film projects which hire a significantly higher number of workers and technicians from Kerala’s marginalised social groups – dalit, adivasi, coastal, communities, disabled people, and the sexual minorities – should be given suitable concessions which the Labour Department announces.

— All workers at any level of a film project who demand a work experience certificate must be granted it as a matter of right. These certificates must be considered relevant in the application process, and shortlisting applicants must be made mandatory. The short-list must be made available to the public via the RTI Act.

— If any organisation of technicians, actors etc. still persist with gender-discriminatory rules, debarring etc that are contrary to the spirit of free enterprise, they must be struck down immediately.

— The Labour Department must organise a cell at the district level where women workers who face wage discrimination or wish to report discriminatory practices, formal or informal, may register a complaint. A redressal process must be set up and given enough publicity by the Labour Department.

— The practice of paying wages directly on dates specified in the work contract to the bank accounts of workers must be made compulsory.

— The HCR points to the grievous lack of basic facilities to women workers in film sites. Such facilities as clean toilets in sufficient numbers, rest facilities, basic medical care, food, water, and sufficiently-large changing room – must be ensured. The needs of transwomen and transmen should be addressed separately.

— The safety of women workers during travel and stay for film making must necessarily be assured by producers. Any producer who fails to do so must not only be penalised by the law, but also face bans from the industry, and their return can be permitted only under stringent conditions.

— In all of the above, discrimination among different levels of work in the film-making process, between acting and non-acting, and between cis- and trans-women, must be strictly prohibited.

3.   Exploitation

Exploitation of labour is inherent to capitalism, but it is well-accepted that exploitation that erodes and destroy the capacity of labour is both economically and ethically unacceptable. In the context of the HCR findings, we refer mainly to gender-based exploitation which seems unacceptably high in the MCI.

–The Labour Department must review the layers of work and the different kinds of work prevalent in the MCI and fix minimum wages for each.

–Children who work in the industry as actor, dancers, or singers deserve special protection. The terms and conditions of their performance and measures to ensure their safety need to be reviewed and revised. Provisions must be made to ensure that at least half of the remuneration that they received must be invested in fixed deposits or secure assets in their own names, to be made available after they attain maturity. Any breach of labour contract regarding children, or failure to pay their remuneration must attract not just penalty but also bans from the industry for specified periods.

–The HCR reports several incidents of accidents on shooting sites and injuries to junior artistes which were neglected heinously. Sufficient medical care and compensation for any worker injured or ill from the rigours of film making must be included among the producer’s obligations.

— In contracts signed with women actors, full disclosure of the nature of the role, the duration of work, the backdrops necessary, and the changes possibly needed must be made obligatory. The actor must be granted the right to walk out of a project that breaches these, without any penalty.

— The gross exploitation of workers by their organisations through large demands for payments as fees etc must be immediately banned.

— The Welfare Fund for women workers in cinema suggested by the HCR should be set up immediately. It should address not merely support for retirees and seniors but also support during such critical life events as childbirth, peri-menopausal physical weakness, and so on. Besides the government, the fund should also draw upon contributions from cinema producers. Provisions should be made for ensuring that a portion of the CSR funds of enterprises in Kerala should serve the needs of women workers in the MCI.

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4. Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence

Sexual harassment/sexual violence against women workers in the MCI seems fully normalised among men – and it is a product of the egregious feudal values that have shaped MCI historically, and the highly misogynist understanding of ‘masculine genius’ central to our understanding of artistic creativity. The HCR reveals the shocking extent to which this devalues and oppresses women in the MCI. This must be immediately ended.

While such institutions as a tribunal and a film policy are welcome, it is imperative that the law of the land that protects all women workers in their workplaces must be applied to women workers in the MCI. The following demands are made to achieve this end.

— The formation of an IC must be made a mandatory step to the commencement of any film project. If enough women members are not available, the IC may be constituted by drawing in members from the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) of the district, or members nominated by the WCC, which the HCR has highlighted as the organisation that has worked tirelessly to protect the rights and dignity of women in the industry, or women’s organisations with a credible record of fighting for women’s human rights. These ICs should be granted the same powers, responsibilities, and conditions as are prevalent for all ICs constituted under the POSH Act.

— Film making should commence only after this IC reports to the LCC that all the necessary conditions have been met.

— The LCC should visit the site and confirm the IC’s report.

— Provisions must be made to allow the LCCs to co-opt at least one representative who is either recommended by the WCC or a member of the WCC to be part of it during the visit.

[ We wish to clarify here that this is not tantamount to giving the WCC a monopoly over monitoring gender justice in the MCI. We do not believe that the WCC will remain the same, but it is an undeniable fact, underlined by the HCR, that they have fought relentlessly for the cause of gender justice in the MCI in the face of tremendous risks and huge personal losses. Given this, we believe that they are most suited to lead this pioneering effort at institutionalising gender justice in the MCI until the recommendations of the HCR are actualised.]

— The LCC should be informed prior about all the details of film-making, including places, duration, the numbers of women workers at different levels, the facilities on the site, accommodation, travel, food, and so on. The LCC must be empowered to demand and examine any documents pertaining to these, record and demand the immediate rectification of any shortfall.

— If these are not remedied within the period specified by the LCC, the film-making must be suspended.

— Sufficient training and resources must be offered to all persons directly involved with the film-making, and especially the ICC members. A training module relevant to MCI should be developed under the supervision of the Kerala High Court.

—  All women workers should be given a printed notice with full details of all the measures taken to ensure gender justice at work, along with details of the complaint-filing process and phone numbers of IC members.

–If dissatisfied with the IC decision, the complainant should have the right to approach the LCC.

–If the film making shifts to another district, the LCC there should be empowered to support the IC and visit and examine the site whenever necessary.

5.  Retribution: The Problems of ‘Banned workers’

Besides these, women who complain must enjoy a measure of protection against implicit work-bans.

Women unskilled and skilled workers and women technicians who are rejected despite qualifications and experience in the shortlisting process may be considered to be ‘banned workers’, but workers/artistes/technicians with a credible history of work prior to a complaint, and left drained of work after may also be placed in that category.

— If such women are rejected despite necessary qualifications and experience in the shortlisting process in the proposed cinema-work website, they should have the right to complain and claim compensation.

— Such women should be granted priority in all public funded film-making, including visual publicity and awareness campaigns organised by government departments. CSR funds should be mobilised to aid their projects.

— The Labour Department should liaise with other departments and institutions to organise skill-trainings for women workers rejected in the shortlisting despite qualifications and experiences, and offer them fee concessions and other kinds of support in other training programmes.

— The Labour Department should liaise with the K-DISC to open a special portal to connect women workers in MCI with employers at the national and international levels.