Malayalam actress assault case: Women in Cinema Collective stages protest for justice, at State Film Award venue

Members of the Women in Cinema Collective, headed by Malayalam actress Manju Warrier, protested at the venue of the State Film Award to seek justice for the Malayalam actress who was abducted and assaulted on 17 February. [caption id=“attachment_4030659” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Actress Sajitha, who is a member of the Women in Cinema Collective. Image from Facebook[/caption] The campaign they started at the venue has been called ‘Avalkkoppam’, which means ‘With Her’, and it was spearheaded by actress Sajitha Madathil and director Vidhu Vincent. “Through the campaign, we were trying to gather public support for the attacked actress,” said Vincent, as quoted by The New Indian Express. The campaign was inaugurated by Nilambur Ayisha, and during the protest, members demanded that shooting spaces should be made free of exploitation and sexual violence. Badges about gender equality were also distributed. Signatures were also collected from the public, which will reportedly be submitted to Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan. Apart from the protest, the Women in Cinema Collective also publicly responded to MLA PC George, who ridiculed the Collective for filing a case against him for making offensive and derogatory comments about the survivor. It has sought action against him. It also chastised MLA KB Ganesh Kumar for siding with Dileep, which it felt showed a disregard for the Constitution and was an undemocratic action. Only a few days ago, Madathil responded to the support that Dileep was receiving from members of the Malayalam film industry. “Those who visited Dileep in jail have not even bothered to call up or inquire about the attacked actress. Apart from her close friends, none from the industry visited her. From this, it is evident that top Mollywood stars are still with the accused and are supporting him. Women in Cinema Collective will look into the matter and take necessary decisions,” she said, as quoted by Manorama Online. The Special Investigation Team, which is responsible for probing this case, approached the Anagamaly judicial first-class magistrate on 9 September to place a restriction of the number of people visiting Dileep in the Aluva sub-jail. The demand for this restriction was in response to the press conference MLA KB Ganesh Kumar held near the jail, where he supported Dileep and exonerated him of charges. Also read on Firstpost - Malayalam actress assault case: 60 days after Dileep was arrested, a look at developments