The I&B (Information and Broadcasting) ministry of the government of India has decided to ban Condom Ads on National TV between 6.00 AM and 10.00 PM. The reason given is that showing condom ads during the day time will negatively impact the children who are watching TV.
The immediate catalyst was the ads of 'Manforce' condoms from the Manpasand group starring Sunny Leone. Apparently it was too risque for Smriti Irani, the minister.
Banning condom ads on national TV is a regressive move. Like ostrich, we
are good at hiding our head in sand and not acknowledging the real
issue. The real issue is that more and more children are experiencing sex. The average age of first sexual intercourse is now 14 for urban boys in India. We need to encourage the use of condoms more. We should be encouraging safer sex and condoms are the best tool for that.
In addition we have the ubiquitous truck drivers who spend a lot of time away from home and indulge in prostitution. Most of the time they do not use condoms, possibly due to lack of knowledge. This group is a major cause of spread of HIV / Aids in the country.
As a tool to population control, the government has been encouraging use of contraceptives in the country. However, the progress is not very satisfactory. Even with a lot of
effort, the use of protection is inadequate in the country.
At this point, decisions such as these will only slower the progress towards our national goals. If the content was the issue, then directions could have been given to moderate the same. Banning condom ads on TV during the day time will slow down the progress towards safe sex and ultimately will impede the progress of the national population goal. Decisions such as this are like throwing the baby with the bathwater.
Let me narrate an incident to show how difficult it is to implement population control policy in India. This is one that I had heard when I was growing up in Kerala. The health department wanted to lower population growth and were distributing free condoms ( Nirodh, made in India by Public Sector Hindustan Laxatives Limited, true blue Make in India). The team went to an isolated village and to demonstrate the use of condom, they wrapped it around a tree stump that resembled a penis. The villagers nodded in agreement that they have understood how to use the condom.
Let me narrate an incident to show how difficult it is to implement population control policy in India. This is one that I had heard when I was growing up in Kerala. The health department wanted to lower population growth and were distributing free condoms ( Nirodh, made in India by Public Sector Hindustan Laxatives Limited, true blue Make in India). The team went to an isolated village and to demonstrate the use of condom, they wrapped it around a tree stump that resembled a penis. The villagers nodded in agreement that they have understood how to use the condom.
After three months the
department went to this village for a review. They found that outside
each house, there were tree stumps covered with condoms!!!
In a country like India, where getting people to give polio vaccines to their children is difficult, encouraging safe sex is very very difficult.
Getting people to buy condoms is difficult, teaching people how to use it is difficult, ensuring continual use is difficult... And we are making it multi fold difficult by taking these hare brained decisions...
On the bright side, I am reasonably certain that the I&B ministry will reverse this decision. I trust the minister to take the right decision after she has exhausted all the other options (that was Churchill about Americans) .
In a country like India, where getting people to give polio vaccines to their children is difficult, encouraging safe sex is very very difficult.
Getting people to buy condoms is difficult, teaching people how to use it is difficult, ensuring continual use is difficult... And we are making it multi fold difficult by taking these hare brained decisions...
On the bright side, I am reasonably certain that the I&B ministry will reverse this decision. I trust the minister to take the right decision after she has exhausted all the other options (that was Churchill about Americans) .
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