“With the ‘Save Shakti’ campaign, we want to present a two-point petition which will ensure that more women come forward and complain about instances of sexual harassment as well as get speedy verdicts,” said actor Varalaxmi Sarathkumar on Wednesday.
Following the news of the alleged kidnapping and molestation of an actor in Kerala, the actress had spoken out on Twitter about how it was necessary for more women to speak up and not tolerate disrespect.
Sharing an incident which had happened to her where the programming head of a television channel had behaved inappropriately, she stated in a tweet that vent viral that she did not want to be treated like ‘a piece of meat’.
When asked about her facebook post, she said, “If it is happening to someone like me who is not an outsider, there may be many more women who are keeping quiet out of fear of losing work or being boycotted,” she said.
Stating that there was an immediate need to form a redressal forum for women in the Tamil film industry, Ms. Varalaxmi said she was going to approach the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) to set up such a body.
“There are several unions and yet, nothing specifically for women. A body which also comprises people from outside the industry should be formed so there is a fair handling of grievances raised by women — be it actresses, make-up artists or dancers,” she said.
Signature campaign
As a part of the Save Shakti Campaign, a signature campaign will he held at the Rajaratnam Stadium on the occasion of Women’s Day on March 8.
“So many women — including colleagues — contacted me and told me about how they had faced similar situations,” Ms. Varalaxmi said.
“In my petition to the State government which I will submit after the signature campaign, I will request more special courts for women with respect to sexual offences, where they can seek redressal,” she explained.
“There also needs to be a stipulated time within which the verdicts need to be given in cases such as these so that the survivor is not put through a wait spanning years for the conviction of the accused,” she added.
