Pemra bans ads on birth control products

Experts say ban no solution as millions of women have no access to population control info and facilities

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Friday imposed an immediate ban on showing or broadcasting of advertisements about birth control products by private television and radio channels, through an order.

According to the Pemra order, a legal action would be taken against all those media organisations which would violate the order. Giving the reason, Pemra said the authority had been receiving complaints from people against ads about birth control products, and there were serious concerns among the public in this regard.

People stated in their complaints that children also watch such ads and they ask questions about them. Pemra said parents had expressed their displeasure at such ad and they demanded a ban on them.

If children are to be kept away from such ads, then these ads should be shown or broadcast at such timing when children mostly don’t watch TV or listen to radio, like in other countries. On the other hand, Asad Baig, the executive director of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Media Matters for Democracy, has termed it a wrong decision. He said Pakistan is a high-risk country as far as sexually-transmitted diseases are concerned. He said such ads could be shown at such timing for creating awareness among people when children mostly do not watch TV or listen to radio, like in other countries.

He said there are various methods to deal with this issue; however, a complete ban was not a solution. It had never been a solution, he added. According to a United Nations report, millions of women in Pakistan didn’t have access to population control information and facilities. In such a situation, imposing a complete ban on awareness ads on TV channels and radio stations could worsen the situation, he added.