The State government will soon finalise a comprehensive film and television policy to ensure gender justice and equality in the industry, Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating a public hearing organised by the Kerala State Women’s Commission here on Monday to study the issues faced by women in Malayalam television serial industry.
The public hearing for the serial industry was the first such initiative in a series of hearings from various fields to address the issues faced by women in these fields. Eleven such hearings are proposed to be held across the State.
Mr. Cherian said that though women are coming up in considerable numbers in every field of activity, discrimination in various forms still persists in many fields. The government will not tolerate such discrimination, harassment or denial of employment.
As a continuation of the steps to address the issues faced by women in the film field, including the Hema Committee report and the ongoing formulation of the film policy, the endeavour has now been extended to study the issues in the serial sector. A conclave will be held soon to form a comprehensive film and television policy. The increasing representation of women in various sectors as well as in elected positions and in entrepreneurship is a positive sign, he said.
Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson P. Satheedevi said the commission will study the issues faced by women in 11 sectors and submit recommendations to the State government. She lauded the various organisations representing the television serial industriy for coming forward and co-operating with the public hearing.
