Chennai (PTI): Actor-politician Khushbu Sundar on Wednesday said the Kerala government-appointed Justice K Hema Committee was "much needed" to break the abuse faced by female professionals in Malayalam cinema and urged women not to compromise and the men to speak up for victims of sexual harassment.

The "MeToo" moment prevailing in "our industry breaks you," the senior actor said in a post on 'X.'

"Kudos to the women who have stood their ground and emerged victorious. The #HemaCommittee was much needed to break the abuse. But will it?," the BJP leader added.

The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry. It has revealed exploitation and abuse of women, leading to many women actors coming out with allegations of harassment at the hands of their male counterparts and other men in the cinema industry.

"Abuse, asking for sexual favours, and expecting women to compromise to gain a foothold or accelerate their careers exist in every field. Why is a woman alone expected to go through the grind? Although men too face it, it's marginally women who bear the brunt," Sundar said.

The fear of being shamed, victim blaming, and questions like "why did you do it" or "What made you do it" break the woman.

"The victim might be a stranger to you or me, but she needs our support, an ear to listen, and emotional backing from us all. When questioning why she didn’t come out earlier, we need to consider her circumstances – not everyone is privileged to speak out," she said.

"To all the men out there, I implore you to stand by the victim and show your unwavering support," she added.

 

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New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.

In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.

"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.

He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.

Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"

"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.

Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.