KOCHI: In 2017, when 18 women came together to stand with the survivor, they knew their lives would never be the same again. As key Mollywood insiders refused to support the survivor, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was formed to speak out, for the survivor and against injustice and gender issues in the industry.
“The unfortunate incident was definitely a trigger. There was no platform to raise such issues earlier,” members said during the collective’s press conference in Kochi in 2018.
The group, comprising prominent actors including Parvathy Thiruvothu, Manju Warrier and Rima Kallingal, met with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to request government support in pushing for an investigation into the assault. Jolly Chirayath, a member, said gender disparities and issues related to workplace safety existed before the assault case. “The incident became an inflection point. The discussions and developments in society became more gender-focused,” she said.
In 2017, during the Kerala State Film Awards, in response to industry figures supporting Dileep, the WCC launched the #Avalkkoppam campaign.
“What justice? And we watch a carefully crafted screenplay unfold so cruelly now,” Parvathy wrote on social media following the verdict. Fellow members Rima and Remya Nambeesan shared ‘avalkkoppam’ posts.
Jolly said the WCC’s efforts played a key role in altering public attitudes. “In the past, survivors and their supporters were targeted by society. Today, we see several social media posts with the hashtags ‘avalkkoppam’ and ‘athijeevithakkoppam’. That is the change the survivor and the WCC have brought to society,” she said.