Film chamber puts PoSH panel after approval

Filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh.

More than three months after the Karnataka Sate Commission for Women had directed the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to set up a Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Committee, the film chamber has approved of the demand. However, the panel hasn’t been officially established due to the upcoming elections for office bearers of the chamber.

Nagalakshmi Chowdhary, the chairperson of the Commission, along with members of the Film Industry For Rights and Equality (FIRE), led by filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh — an association formed in the wake of the #MeToo movement — had submitted a list of 17 demands concerning the working conditions of women in the film industry in September.

The development came on the back of the Justice Hema Committee report that revealed shocking details of discrimination and exploitation in the Malayalam film industry. In a letter to the women’s commission, the KFCC named the officials in the 11-member panel, and suggested Kavitha Lankesh as the chairman of the committee.

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However, due to the upcoming elections, the KFCC will not hold any executive committee meeting to officially establish the panel. The PoSH committee will be currently put on hold till the elections, set to take place on December 14, 2024.