KATHMANDU, JUNE 22

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN Women, in collaboration with the National Planning Commission (NPC) and with guidance from the Film Development Board of Nepal and Nepal Film and Cultural Academy, organised a policy dialogue focused on the current state of the Nepali film industry, its contribution to country's economy and the potential to create decent employment opportunities for women in the sector.

NPC and ILO have collaborated to develop policy recommendations for the media and cultural Industry, with the goal to promote gender-inclusive growth and recovery after COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal. As part of this process, the joint programme supported a pilot study that deep dives into the Nepali film industry, particularly centring on the economic and employment potentials of the sector.

Assessments from the study evidence strong potential of film industry as a cross-cutting sector that can, directly and indirectly, generate jobs and revenues for economy. However, nature of employment in the film industry is flexible and project-based which also translates to unstable job and income security, lack of mechanisms for social security and glaring gaps in the implementation of labour laws.

Women are particularly more vulnerable in such informal settings, as per a media release. Many women industry participants interviewed for the study expressed fear of violence, harassment, occupational safety and health hazards.

Additionally, others reported gendered barriers such as the industry's male-dominated work environment, the often physically strenuous demands of the job, women's added burden of unpaid care work and the limited access to resources and opportunities further de-incentivise women from participating and/or successfully retaining long term employment in the film industry.

Part of a series of events organised through an ILO-UN Women's Joint Programme 'Promoting Decent Employment for Women through Inclusive Growth Policies and Investments in the Care Economy' , the policy dialogue featured NPC Member Ram Kumar Phuyal; NPC Joint Secretary Prakash Dahal; Bhuwan KC, chairperson of Film Development Board; Tanka Bahadur Mahat, under secretary at Ministry of Communication and Information Technology; along with representatives from the government, UN agencies, and the film industry.

'The lack of formal procedures, systems, and ways of work in the Nepali film industry is the identifiable root cause of many of the industry's most pressing issues. It is imperative to take international labour standards into account. Let's work together to create a film industry that is not just a source of entertainment, but also a source for decent employment for women,' said ILO Nepal's Country Director, Numan Özcan.

'The film industry is an important sector not just for the economy. It plays a critical role in cultural transformation. The impact of pandemic increased our curiosity of the film industry and explore its potential to be a vibrant sector that could create decent employment for women and the youth,' said Phuyal. NPC had played a guiding role in conducting the study.

Some of the key factors that define decent employment include the accessibility of fair income, stability of work and security in the workplace, social protection, the space for dialogue, work and personal life balance and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. The informal and inconsistent employment practices of Nepali film industry demonstrate there are major steps needed to ensure decent employment opportunities for women, the release adds.

Promoting decent employment is the core of UN Women-ILO Joint Programme's agenda which is founded on the premise that inclusive growth and decent work for all cannot be achieved without tackling explicit factors that undermine women's access to productive and full employment.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.