NHRC issues notice to TS Government, I&B Ministry following Sri Reddy's protest

Based on the media reports on the alleged sexual exploitation of women in the Telugu film industry, the issue raised by television anchor turned actress Sri Reddy, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance.

The Commission, in a press release, quoted media reports and said Sri Reddy had questioned the Telangana government and the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) regarding the absence of the Committee Against Sexual Harassment (CASH) resulting in, she alleged, female actors not being able to represent or seek redressal of their grievances, if there was any sexual harassment in the workplace i.e. Telugu film industry, in this case.

According to the press release, the Commission opined that it is a violation of her right to livelihood for the actress who is being prohibited to act in the films and considering the media reports to be true, it would amount to inaction on the part of the state government. 

Following this, the Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana and the Secretary, Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have been issued notices calling for a detailed report in the matter and the proposed mechanism to the deal the matter within four weeks. 

In this case, the Commission observed that the state government needs to take action on the issues raised by the actress and set up a committee to address and resolve the grievances of the female actors and women employees, in case of any sexual harassment at the workplace.