Should have spoken earlier: Actress-politician Khushbu Sundar on sexual abuse by her father amid #MeToo storm

The Hema Committee report has detailed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, also known as Mollywood.

It has highlighted how sexual abuse targeting women prevails in the industry.

In a long post, Sundar said the report was "much needed to break the abuse".

She said, "Abuse, asking for sexual favors, 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."

In the long X post, Sundar said she should have spoken about her experience much earlier.

But Sundar says she was abused by the man who was meant to protect her the most.

"As a woman and a mother, the wounds inflicted by such violence cut deep, not only in the flesh but in the very soul. These acts of brutality shake the foundations of our trust, our love, and our strength. Behind every mother, there's a will to nurture and protect, and when that sanctity is shattered, it affects us all.

Some ask me what took me so long to speak about my father's abuse. I agree I should have spoken earlier. But what happened to me, was not a compromise to build my career. I was abused at the hands of the person who was suppose to provide me the strongest arms to hold me if I fell," the Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson added.

The report by the three-member panel- headed by former judge of the Kerala High Court and constituted by the state government in 2017- has claimed the industry is dominated by a "mafia of powerful men" and that "sexual harassment of women is rampant".

It has also narrated poor working conditions where junior artists had no access to toilets, had to run to bushes or behind thick trees and faced physical discomfort during periods.

In the wake of the Hema Committee report, as many as 17 cases of sexual harassment have been filed.

As an impact, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists was on Tuesday dissolved after the report was published.