Over 100 Bengali artistes including Aparna Sen, Swastika Mukherjee write to state panel seeking safer workplace

The Women’s Forum for Screen Workers issued a letter stating that there is no adequate support system in place to prevent, prohibit, and address sexual harassment in the Bengali film industry.

Over a hundred female artists working in the Bengali film industry wrote to the Tele Academy on Tuesday, demanding a safer workplace environment in light of the recent rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar hospital.

The letter to the Tele Academy, Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA), and West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes Forum was signed by several prominent figures in the Bengali film industry. These included director Aparna Sen and actresses Rupa Ganguly, Swastika Mukherjee, Paoli Dam, Sohini Sarkar, Sohini Sengupta, Bidipta Chakraborty, Chaitali Dasgupta, Anuradha Ray, Shakuntala Barua, and scriptwriter Meghatithi Banerjee.

The letter stated, "People of West Bengal, along with the entire nation, have been shocked to their core by the recent torture and murder of a woman doctor at her workplace – RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata. In the wake of this heinous crime, it is heartening to see that the entertainment industry – theatre artists and technicians, musicians, makeup artists, dancers and choreographers, screenwriters and technicians are taking to the streets in fervent protests."

"However, it is indeed striking that some of us are yet to take a stand against the recurring incidents of sexual abuse/ harassment/ violence within our own workplaces. As women working in the Bengali film, web platform and television industry, we face various kinds of sexual abuse every day; as well as regularly hear of the rampant abuse faced by women, children and those of marginal identities," it read.

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The Women’s Forum for Screen Workers issued a letter stating that there is no adequate support system in place to prevent, prohibit, and address sexual harassment in the Bengali film industry. "Nor any open conversation (happens) about the recurrent incidents of sexual abuse of women, children and other extremely vulnerable people working in this industry. It is at once an open secret and a hushed-up reality," it added.

The letter demanded a strict mechanism for reporting cases of sexual harassment in exchange for work opportunities. "We know that it is the responsibility of the employers in all sectors to ensure the dignity and safety of workers in their workplaces; we state firmly that the television, web platform, and film industry should be no exception," it said.