Women's rights activists plan hunger strike in protest against Ram Gopal Varma's God, Sex and Truth

Women’s rights groups in Visakhapatnam have threatened to go on a three-day hunger strike in protest against film director Ram Gopal Varma on Monday. The Hindu reports that activists from Progressive Organisation of Women (POW), AIDWA and Mahila Samakhya have sought the arrest of the filmmaker over his short film God, Sex and Truth. [caption id=“attachment_4356439” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Poster for God, Sex and Truth/Image from Twitter.[/caption] The organisations alleged that RGV insulted the modesty of women by promoting pornography. He was also booked under sections 506 and 509 of Indian Penal Code for his alleged derogatory remarks about women’s rights activist P Mani. In a debate on the Telugu news channel, TV9, Varma had said of Mani, “I’ll leave God, Sex and Truth, leave Mia Malkova and make the film with her. To me, she’s more lovely than Mia Malkova. I find her face to be more lovely than that of Mia Malkova.” M Lakshmi of the Progressive Organisation of Women said, “We take exception to such derogatory remarks, as it hurts womanhood. Moreover, he does not know how to respect and speak to women.” She was further disappointed that no action had been taken against the director despite complaints being lodged with the District Collector in Visakhapatnam and the Police Commissioner. On 25 January, a day before the release of the movie, Varma was booked by the CCS. A case under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was booked against him for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form. The CCS this week issued fresh notice on Varma as he could not appear before the officials earlier. Women’s organisations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had staged protest last month, demanding ban on the release of the movie online and Varma’s immediate arrest. The activists alleged that Varma released the movie online to avoid the certification by authorities. With inputs from IANS