I am of the firm belief that gender inequality harms both men and women. If men and women worked together as equals, we would have been on the fast track to both happiness and staggering progress. But here we are still fighting a battle that feels like the myth of Sisyphus. In 2018, the MeToo movement hit the Hindi film industry, a month before the MAMI Film Festival began. I was the artistic director of the festival back then. The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) had already come into force a year earlier. Founding members of WCC, actor Parvathy Thiruvothu and filmmaker Anjali Menon along with filmmakers Kabir Khan and Ruchi Narain, led the MeToo conversations at MAMI.
But it is only in 2024 after the release of the Hema Committee report that the WCC has made national news. I would have liked to say headlines but women don't make headlines unless we are dead or win a medal. What WCC has accomplished is historic and yet the celebration around them or the conversations around gender equality and women's safety in the workplace are relegated to the minimum.
The creation of WCC was a reaction to a deeply distressing incident. But the truth is that an organisation like WCC should have been operational across all media and entertainment ecosystems way before 2017. Predatory practices, predators and exploitation operate on isolation, fear and gatekeeping. Systemic overhaul, community creation and effort beyond the job profile is the antidote to this. There is a colossal gap. We are aware of this gap. We are also aware of the first level solutions we can put into motion that would speed up the process of bringing about balance. The problem is not awareness. The problem is of effort and of intent.
All systemic failings are supported by stereotypes working against women. Let me begin with the exasperated fatigue at conversations around gender or calling a gathering of women "a kitty party". Trivialising the coming together of women and labeling gender based conversations as tiring is part of the problem. Most conversations around women are waylaid by "defining" feminism and counter movements like #NotAllMen. You are tired even before the conversation begins.
We keep talking about creating opportunities but have we made space for women at the workplace? A working mother is still regarded as a possible liability at work. What has been done to make their working space comfortable? Equality doesn't mean sameness. To acknowledge that women have the super power to create another human being and this comes with needs is a step towards equality and justice.
Are our work spaces and their policies making it logistically possible for women to comfortably stay employed and handle the complex responsibilities that they are saddled with? Turning a blind eye to women's larger position in society and hence the need for bespoke practices to help them stay in the workforce is tokenism and not an effort towards equality.
Women are kept out of decision making positions. The bromance is real. You are actively blocked from even raising questions around your remuneration, your credit, having an IC on set, asking about gender ratios in film offices, studios and film crews, about safety protocols, the depth and existence of DEI initiatives. We don't even have proper restrooms for women on set so all of the above sounds like a major over reach. Raising questions inevitably makes you a troublemaker. A clean and well intentioned enterprise would never have a problem with any of this. Omerta or the code of silence is not just a concept that exists in the mafia. Patriarchy thrives on it. The quieter you are about anything that rocks the boat, the better chances you will have to "succeed". Even our protest comes with a palatability playbook.
Different rules apply to men and women. I have heard of and seen men running some of the most toxic work spaces that involve physical abuse, verbal lashings, meltdowns, financial mismanagement, credit appropriation, decorum free environments set up for disasters and their own questionable behaviour that sets the tone for the team but they are viewed as strong, tough taskmasters and creative geniuses but if a woman was to do even half of this then she would be branded as toxic. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The disparity runs deep and permeates every aspect of our daily functioning.
It is no secret that there were no consequences for people accused in the MeToo cases in 2018. They are all back to work. Many have been forced to keep a low profile but in the hushed corridors of power they are thriving and largely unapologetic. The movement created awareness but it did not lead to on-ground guard rails, systemic build outs, policies to ensure safety, humanity and equality in the workplace.
It is a popular notion that women are seeking revenge, that they want retribution. Consequences for actions would be great but it is not revenge and retribution we seek. Safety, opportunity and equality is what we want. Give me investor confidence, a safe working environment, authentic collaboration and a genuine seat at the table any day. That is what furthers our story.
In the many conversations I have had with female industry professionals, the stories are mind boggling. The most "powerful" of women have tales to tell that will make your eyes pop out of their sockets. In fact, sometimes I find it hard to believe that this has actually come to pass and nothing has been done about it. Even film criticism and writing on film that shapes the discourse around cinema is rife with a blind spot to calling out gender biases and portrayal. A deeply misogynistic film is praised for its craft? If the film was racist and filled with religious hate would the same rule apply? The problem we consider not passing muster on gender parameters a lesser crime. When in reality, on the intersectionality spectrum, the women in any community across economic stratas are subjected to and are vulnerable to the worst.
The founding members of WCC were some of the busiest film professionals at the top of their game. They took out time, prioritised the fight and stayed committed to it. In the last seven years, they have lost opportunities, faced debilitating ridicule and career altering ostracization. They also faced internal battles of organisational challenges, growing discontent, betrayals and morale. The whole system is rigged against you. There is a very heavy price to pay for speaking truth to power and pushing to change the unacceptable norm. But there is a greater price to pay if you are silent. And that is the status quo. Even though change cannot be solely at our doorstep, women need to push harder. Their silence has got them nowhere. Playing by the rules of the big boys has only led to a percentage in the playing field that is laughable at best.
Lastly, there is a hammering demand to celebrate the glacially slow changes in achieving gender balance. "Be positive na", I am told. Any disappointment expressed is scoffed at. This is another burden to carry going into any conversation around gender equality. All change towards bridging this divide is appreciated but a lot more needs to be done and at a pace that is commensurate with the colossal gap. Pointing this out is being realistic and not negative. But when something really worth celebrating happens, we are silent or we are quelling voices because this report has shook up the powers that be.
The Hema Committee report is a 250-plus-page historic document. It is the first official document that brings to the fore the filth that infests the entertainment industry. It tells the story of the women that are in the business of telling stories. It makes it incumbent on the government to make it the foundation for formulating policies. It is an inflection point for the rest of us to learn from WCC and work towards paving a path that makes the ride a little smoother for the women who tread on it after us.
We gotta do this NOW.
(Smriti Kiran is Founder, Polka Dots Lightbox, and Creator & Curator, Maitri.)
