By IANS,
New Delhi : Alarmed over the rise in “obscene” depictions of women in the print and electronic media, including in television soaps, the National Commission for Women (NCW) wants a self-regulatory board to keep a check on this.
NCW Chairperson Girja Vyas Tuesday demanded a change in the existing legislation. She also suggested stiff penalty and punishment for violators.
“In today’s world, the depiction of women is done in obscene ways through various mediums,” she told reporters here.
She said soap operas either show woman as a vamp or a simple innocent girl.
“TV soaps neither portray a normal character nor a normal life. In soaps, a person is married three times in a year without being divorced even once and this is in total contradiction with our laws,” she said.
Vyas voiced her unhappiness over the portrayal of women in posters, IT (Information Technology), television and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).
The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, prohibits publication, exhibition, advertisement, pamphlet, book, film, photograph or representation, which contains an indecent representation of women in any form.
“It is being noticed that the existing act lacks prohibition of obscenity, ideal ways of dealing with pornography, critical issues related to child pornography and the legal framework that is required,” Vyas added.
Advocating self-regulatory bodies, she said there should be a media watch committee of eminent film personalities, producers, creative directors. She called for stiff penalty and punishment for violators.
The NCW has conducted workshops with eminent film personalities on the issue. Bollywood actress and director Pooja Bhatt was one of the participants in Mumbai. Similar workshops will be conducted in Kolkata and Delhi.