Why I decided to reveal my identity in a sexual harassment case: Dr Asha Joseph interview

Filmmaker and academician Dr Asha Achy Joseph, who complained against ex-MLA and filmmaker PT Kunjumuhammed, remained anonymous until recently. She identified herself as the complainant in an op-ed article published in a Malayalam newspaper, because she felt that the more survivors remain oblivious, the more space harassers get to set narratives.

Asha says she was sexually harassed by Kunjumuhammed in December 2025, when she was in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram as a respected jury member of the government’s official film festival selection committee. Asha wrote to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, detailing her ordeal, but an FIR was not registered until the media took up her case. Despite the harassment happening at her workplace, the FIR does not include the POSH Act, raising serious questions about the government’s commitment to women’s rights and tolerance towards sexual harassment.

In an interview, Asha opens up to TNM’s Sukanya Shaji about the case, her observations, the many hurdles she has experienced so far, and the fatigue she has to endure in the process.