Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ananya Panday says women have historically faced "dark times", but what has changed is that they have become more vocal about the issues today. Asked about her views on the current climate where there have been many crimes against women as well as how they are treated in cinema, Panday said though raising awareness is crucial, it must be accompanied by concrete efforts to bring about real change in society.
"It's always been dark times for women, now we are just speaking about it a lot more. There's one thing talking about it but the more important thing is doing something about it," the actor told PTI. "As women and as actors, we are doing our bit by educating the men around us in what they can do better in these situations and also speaking up for issues that are important," she added.
Panday, who will next be seen in the web series Call Me Bae, said there is a need for systemic change, especially through legislation. "The more important step is actually laws changing, and the government making actionable changes to this," Panday said. Her co-star from the Prime Video show, Niharika Lyra Dutt, said it's wonderful that women are speaking about the inequality in the film industry.
"The problems in the film industry and disparity have always been the case. Now, people are talking about it, standing up against it, voices are being emboldened, and that's wonderful because that leads to systemic change, Dutt, best known for Paatal Lok, said. She said that now there is an internal complaints committee on set and that the actors' and crew's contracts include clauses against sexual harassment.
Muskkaan Jaferi, who plays a pivotal role in Call Me Bae, said there are platforms for lodging complaints, an essential step in empowering women to speak out without fear. "We have an orientation (programmes) also like there are strict rules in place for how to behave in a work environment. That is a big change. You can go and complain anonymously too, she said.
Their comments come in the backdrop of the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor and sexual assault on two kindergarten girls in Maharashtra's Thane, as well as the revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report on many instances of sexual harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
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