India's feminist film Lipstick Under My Burkha cleared for release

India's Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), an appellate board of India's film censor authority has cleared an award-winning Hindi language film Lipstick Under My Burkha for release, officials said Wednesday.

The appellate authority has asked directors of the film to make some cuts and accorded an adult certification to the film, which means its release is limited to adults (aged beyond 18 years).

In February, India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to certify the film citing its was "lady oriented" and contained "contentious sexual scenes, abusive words".

Following the refusal of certification, the film's directors Prakash Jha and Alankrita Shrivastava approached FCAT.

"There cannot be any embargo on a women-oriented film or one containing sexual fantasies and expression of the inner desires of women," a statement issued by FCAT said. "As a matter of general approach, if the aspect of sexual desires and their expression is sensitively handled without bringing coarseness, vulgarity or obscenity, pandering prurient tendencies, then it is not to be disallowed."

The movie is based on the secret lives of four women trying to assert their personal and sexual rights.

The film has already won the Oxfam award for best film on gender equality at the Mumbai film festival, the spirit of Asia prize at the Tokyo International film festival and an audience choice award at the Glasgow film festival.

The CBFC ruling was widely criticised and seen as an attempt to curtail the freedom of speech.

India's CBFC commonly referred as censor board has a long history of ordering cuts in the scenes of movies or barring them altogether on the grounds of being "racy" or "hurting religious sentiments". Endit