PEMRA, the county’s electronic media watchdog, despite having its hands full trying to protect the image of our men in uniform, has turned to the policing of the bodies of underage girls. And the verdict is in: cartoons for children represent a threat to Pakistani morals – at least as far as our authorities are concerned.
Such moves are particularly disturbing when one imagines the high-ups in of PEMRA – presumably grown Pakistani men – surfing television channels on the lookout for what underage girls may or may not be wearing. Even more disturbing is that the females in question are cartoons! The show in question is Winx Club, a series that follows the adventures of a group of young girls who are also fairies. US satellite broadcaster Nickelodeon was slapped with a Rs 500,000 fine and a strict warning to be more vigilant when it comes to future shows.
The message is clear. Young girl children are being taught from a tender age that it is men – any men, men not even part of their family, men whom they have never seen – who decide what constitutes a decent or indecent dress code. This is certainly not the job of PEMRA.
But if it insists on busying itself with the portrayal of the woman on television, it might want to start any of the advertisements pertaining to cooking, all of which cast the woman as chained to the kitchen sink going about her daily routine of unpaid labour. Such mandatory domestic slavery is a far more indecent image, at least for those interested in the truly raising the status of Pakistani women!
Published in Daily Times, June 26th, 2017.