Ban on condom ads or not, Pakistani agencies pulling nation back to dark ages
In Pakistan, there is no end to controversial issues being raised by government institution. Each institution is believed to represent the conservative class. There is no interest on what would motivate the people of the country and hence, the messages that are sent out are quite extreme.
After the Council of Islamic Ideology wanted to legalise violation against women, another government institution - the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) - has now started to impose bans on advertisements and dramas. The PEMRA has taken upon itself the task to decide what should the people watch, speak and hear on TV, when its primary task is to educate.
In February 2016, the institution issued an order to ban the Vaseline commercial and as well the Sunsilk commercial on the pretext that it was not our tradition or culture to criticise the model dress.
Does it make sense to impose bans on these commercials?
Would the PEMRA let people know how in a Vaseline commercial must a girl wear a burqa?
The authorities at the PEMRA possibly had forgotten that culture and tradition are bound to undergo change.
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| Pakistan needs to open up. |
If the PEMRA wants to talks about culture and tradition, then it needs to be clarified which culture it is talking about, because Pakistan has also seen such rich cultures as the Indus Valley civilisation and Gandhara school of art. And if the institution gives its excuses in the name of religion, then let me point out that there are Hindus, Christians and Sikhs in Pakistan, for whom the commercials may not be offensive.
Not only TV commercials, the PEMRA had also tried to curb education of abused children on the TV drama Uddari. It hauled up the programme over a scene that it considered against the values of Pakistani society.
However, the sad part is, nearly 70,000 children were the victims of violence in 2014, according to a report.
Has the PEMRA ever encouraged programmes on sex education ("good" and "bad" touch) in children?
Of course, our society is conservative and the shadow of Mullah Raj looms large. Rapists are walking freely but a debate on sex education is not accepted.
Pakistan needs to introduce a new system and it should be explained to people that sex education is important for them and their children. No one can change stereotypes in a day, but the media has a big role to play to educate people in this regard.
The PEMRA had also issued a laughable order to ban airing advertisements of contraceptives and family planning products, but later had to withdraw its decision.
The institution needs to be reminded that the government runs the Green Star Programme, which says "contributing to the development of Pakistan through family planning".
Pakistan has already had a problem with the administration of polio drops, with many polio workers having been injured and killed. The government still fights polio despite extremists opposing it.
The PEMRA's order now to stop airing advertisements of contraceptives will only encourage extremists to promote their orthodox agenda.
HIV/AIDS is a major problem in Pakistan, and it needs to get control of it.
The PEMRA has been too keen to impose bans. It should instead adopt a moderate approach and realise that bans only put obstacles in the path of a progressive society.