Actor Aiswarya Lakshmi has called for government intervention to enable women to participate in the business area of the movie industry, including film production.
She was speaking at a face-to-face interaction between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and women at the CIAL Convention Centre here. Ms. Lakshmi suggested making technical and production aspects of filmmaking part of the curriculum. The government should take steps in this direction. It would open up novel opportunities for women, she said.
In his response, Mr. Vijayan said steps would be taken to enable women to participate in production and other technical aspects of filmmaking, and that a system would be put in place for making women eligible for the it.
Singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi sought to know whether there was scope for a project to aid visually challenged, similar to that helped hearing impaired regain their ability to hear. She said that visually challenged individuals, like herself, dream of seeing the world through their own eyes. Mr. Vijayan said while he could not guarantee to restore her sight, Kerala stood with her in pursuit of her dreams.
Veteran singer P.K. Medhini called for government initiative to encourage local products. “There are many women entrepreneur in villages across the State. However, they have not been able to find market for their products,” she added.
Admitting that it was indeed a serious issue, Mr. Vijayan said steps would be taken to address it. “Local indigenous products will be made available through initiatives like K-Store. The development of national waterways leading to the development of tourist spots along banks will also help increase the potential of local products,” Mr. Vijayan added.
Mr. Vijayan said the government would take steps for the upliftment of the transgender community. This was after Vijayaraja Mallika, a transgender poet, called for addressing the issue of dropout among transgender students and making the entire State transgender-friendly.
