Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a women's organization in cinema, welcomed the high court's decision to set up an internal grievance redressal cell at film locations. The court pronounced the verdict on WCC’s plea, the other day. The organization which enumerates some of the main gains obtained through this verdict, also expressed gratitude to the court via a Facebook post.

Facebook post
WCC welcomes the Honourable Kerala High Court's order, and we sincerely thank the court for upholding the rights of women to a secure and equal workplace and thereby their dignity.

Some of the major achievements obtained through high court verdict are

1) The producer and production unit are explicitly recognized as an institution and therefore are made primarily responsible for ensuring the dignity of women in the workplace as defined in the PoSH Act, 2013. The important thing is that this ruling compels the establishment of a grievance redressal cell in the form of an internal cell. This is the first time that the question of what is the 'workplace' in cinema has been discussed in this way. We hope this will lead to far-reaching discussions.

2) Organizations, namely FEFCA, producers association, AMMA, MACTA, Government of Kerala and Film Chamber are all responsible for implementing the provisions of the POSH Act 2013. We all in the film industry need to make sure this is implemented. Ensuring the dignity of women in the workplace and taking action to ensure it is more than a formality, it is a responsibility that must be implemented with a completely correct attitude.

3) This judgment requires AMMA to ensure that IC is enforced in accordance with the PoSH Act 2013.

4) Along with that, this judgment highlights the need to protect the constitutional dignity of women and recognizes the right to life and individual liberty of women in the film industry.

We sincerely thank you once again for presenting this important court decision.

However, the successful implementation of this ruling also requires a Malayalam film industry that recognizes the personality of women and the greatness of work. It is gratifying that Malayalam film organizations are welcoming this verdict with great interest. However, we all need to be vigilant about the nature of the execution of the judgment and its ultimate effectiveness. For this, the WCC is happy to work with all like-minded organizations.

The consolation of this verdict is not small for all the women in the film and those who want to enter this arena. This verdict is a great milestone in the history of Malayalee women.