The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) advisory imposing time restrictions on the airing of advertisements that sell condoms or promote their use on television channels is a knee-jerk reaction on a matter that seeks a balanced approach. It is unclear if the government is justified in seeking the embargo on such commercials from 6 am to 10 pm each day under the pretext that it wants to prevent such content from affecting the impressionable minds of children. The move has supposedly been prompted by the emergence of commercials that have started promoting the use of these male contraceptive devices chiefly as a means solely of deriving carnal pleasure. The standard Indian thinking being that subjects such as sex and the pleasures associated with it are undesirable and abhorrent. The commercials are obviously aimed at the segment of the population that lives amid at least the minimum comforts, that is, the middle class or above. They appeal to the section of society that is embracing change quick time. And the conflict is arising as a result of the pace of that change. What is shown in most of these commercials may be the normal in many households today but it is undisputable that an equally large number of families remain rooted in the social systems that have prevailed in the country since time immemorial. Although it is difficult to understand the reasons behind the great number of child births that is noticed within this so called conservative section of society.
The advisory issued by the ministry followed the receipt of a number of complaints against condom advertisements with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and it would therefore be inadvisable to plod on with such promotions. This implies completely discounting possibilities that it might, just might, elicit some positive behaviour from people.
The fact remains that the market for condoms has remained small at Rs1,000 crore to Rs1,300 crore and the proportion of Indians using condoms has grown from only 5.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent. Female sterilisation remains the most popular contraceptive method in the country that has one of the lowest rates of condom use in the world.
With India probably already having toppled China as the most populous country on earth, without doubt it needs to promote condoms, which are non-intrusive contraceptive devices. It is important to continually promote their use even on all media to ensure that diseases such as HIV and other STDs can be kept at bay. The sluggish pace of growth in the condoms market has prompted companies to adopt strategies that may not be in the best interests of all viewers. But that should not be a reason to keep such advertisements off air for a larger part of the day. The ministry should perhaps consider allowing advertisements with suitable revisions in content so that it does not negatively affect children and does not create embarrassing moments in households.
Last March, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has issued a similar notice to all television channels and radio stations across that country to ‘immediately stop’ airing advertisements for contraceptives and family planning products. They had also claimed that the decision was warranted by numerous complaints being raised by the regulatory authority there against ‘undesired’ content in commercials. The problem with banning such advertisements is that it could affect the usage of condoms. Condom manufacturers should, therefore, work towards creating commercials that promote use of these contraceptive devices without being offending to sensibilities, and the government should allow advertisements that are not offensive to pseudo-morality.
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