The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), in its latest wisdom, has decided to advise TV channels not to make dramas on sensitive subjects.
In a press statement titled ‘PEMRA advises TV channels to stop airing objectionable content in TV dramas’, PEMRA has advised TV channels to not run objectionable content.
What are those objectionable matters, you may wonder. PEMRA, however, is clear on the matter. According to PEMRA, it basically means not to air dramas “containing controversial themes, indecent dressing and gestures, sensitive/controversial plots, divorce, infidelity, extra marital affairs and unnecessary detailing of the events.”
This statement is exactly the opposite of what television dramas need. The brilliant (read: blood boiling) statement further notes that PEMRA has received complaints because of these themes from citizens who think the dramas “do not depict the true picture of Pakistani society” because of course, no one is raped in Pakistan, there is absolutely no violence in our society and who cares about understanding feminism and how it connects us, right? In the end, as it always is, PEMRA would like TV dramas to promote a positive image of Pakistan. The full statement is available on PEMRA’s Twitter account in Urdu and English and can be read there.
As for the television industry, it needs to unite to fight this “advise”. The consequence will be far and wide. Today it’s TV. Tomorrow, it will be film and then who knows? As for the public, PEMRA as a body shouldn’t always take public views to create policy. The public can be right but they can also be very, very wrong.
