SC tells B’wood’s make-up men
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The time has come to put an end to gender discrimination in Bollywood, the Supreme Court said on Monday while slamming the Cine Costume Make-up Artists and Hair Dressers Association of the film industry for not giving recognition to women make-up artists.“You cannot discriminate between men and women. The time has come to accept it,“ a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant said.

The court said it was high time the film industry accepted the reality that gender discrimination could not be allowed and told the association that contempt proceedings would be initiated if it did not comply with the court’s order to allow women make-up artists to practice in the industry.

“Do you want to go to Tihar jail? What kind of attitude is this,“ the bench asked when a Bollywood make-up artist, Charu Khurana, told the court that the association was not registering her despite the apex court’s order.

The bench asked the associ ation’s president, who was present in court, to immediately register Khurana and said delay in implementing its order would amount to contempt.

“No further excuse will be entertained for not allowing her registration in the association. It will amount to disobedience of court order and contempt of court proceedings will be initiated against you,“ the bench said.

In a landmark verdict, the court had directed film industries across the country , including regional cinema hubs in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, to ensure equal opportunity for women.

Holding that harassment of women in the 21st century was “inconceivable and impermissible“, the court had struck down the provision restricting the work sphere of women make-up artists and hair dressers in the film industry.