Malayalam movies to sport 'violence against women punishable under law' warning

KOCHI: In a new addition to the list of statutory warnings in movies, Malayalam films will soon sport "violence against women is punishable under law" warning every time a woman is subjected to cruelty and violence on screen. A directive in this regard was issued by the Kerala State Human Rights Commission to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Cultural Affairs Department the other day.

This will also be applicable to serials aired on different Malayalam channels.

The directive was issued by the Kerala State Human Rights Commission acting chairperson P Mohandas upon a petition filed by Shefin Kowdiar. The petitioner contended that there should be a statutory warning, as scenes degrading women are increasing in movies.

In the directive, the chairperson directs the regional officer of CBFC and the secretary of Cultural Affairs Department to take necessary steps in this direction.

It said:"Include statutory scroll on violence against women is punishable under the law in the public exhibition of Malayalam feature films in theatres in Kerala and telecasting of Malayalam serials in different channels." Numerous movies and scenes are released and shown everyday wherein women are subjected to all sorts of harassment. The move will alleviate the grievance raised by the petitioner which is of utmost public importance, the directive said. It also instructs the parties to comply with these recommendations within 30 days.

CBFC regional officer A Prathibha said the board will comply with the directions soon. "We will take steps to include the statutory warning soon. Since atrocities against women are already punishable by law, we have no reason to not include the warning. The movies which are bought for screening henceforth will have this. We have also informed the CBFC office in Mumbai about the directive," she says.

However, she added that it is for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to decide on including the warning in serials aired on the TV.

At present, there are three statutory warnings in Malayalam movies against smoking, alcohol consumption scenes and riding bikes without helmets.