Aparna Sen also sharply criticized the West Bengal government for allegedly failing to ensure the safety of women.
Following the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Calcutta, over a hundred women artists from the Bengali film industry wrote to the Tele Academy asking for safer employment.
Following the murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, over a hundred women artists from the Bengali film industry wrote to Tele Academy demanding a safer workplace. The letter was also sent to the Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA) and the West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes Forum. The signatories included director Aparna Sen and actors like Rupa Ganguly, Swastika Mukherjee and Paoli Dam.
“The people of West Bengal and the entire nation are deeply shocked by the recent torture and murder of a doctor at her workplace – RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata. In the wake of this heinous crime, it is heartening to see the entertainment industry – theatre artists and technicians, musicians, make-up artists, dancers and choreographers, script writers and technicians – taking to the streets in passionate protests,” the letter said.
“However, it is indeed remarkable that some of us are still not speaking out against the recurring cases of sexual abuse/harassment/violence in our own workplaces. As women working in the Bengali film, web platform and television industry, we face various forms of sexual abuse on a daily basis and regularly hear about the rampant abuse faced by women, children and people from marginalised communities,” it added.
The letter from the Women’s Forum for Screen Workers decried the lack of effective measures against sexual harassment and criticized the lack of open discussion about abuses in the industry. It also pointed to a lack of information and support regarding workplace safety and workers’ rights. “In light of the above, we write this letter to enquire whether legal structures have been put in place for workers in the television, web platform and film industries in line with the laws to prevent sexual harassment and create safe work spaces, whether an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) with seven or more workers has been established in all employers to inform all workers at the district level about the LCC,” it said.
