The recent decision of the government to ban condom advertisements on television during prime time has sparked a debate on social media.
The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry took the decision after the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) received several complaints about steamy condom ads.
Here are some of the major feedbacks by popular television celebrities on the decision made by Indian government.
Anuj Sachdev:
"I think the lack of sex education in our country is what impacts children. We are such a hypocritical society. On one hand we talk about how much we are progressing and on the other we have a problem with tv channels airing condom ads. Do we even realise that condoms promote protected sex which is the most essential education the citizens of this nation need to get. We are okay with so many molestation and rape incidents happening in this country day in and day out but we will ban something as trivial as a condom ad on television [sic]"
Tanya Sharma:
"The world over, such advertising is being deregulated to prevent teenage pregnancies. It is now being widely recognised as the part of educating certain knowledge but yes the creativity can be changed to decent advertising [sic]"
Sahil Uppal:
Sahil feels that it's not a great idea to ban condom ads as these days schools have sex education classes and even kids are exposed to Internet.
Meghna Naidu:
"Condom ads are so important to show the people of our country. It's something so basic and important. Instead of making more educative ads and videos to teach the people of our country the right thing our government decides to take down condom ads in the day. I am shocked. If one finds an ad explicit you have the option of making another ad. Banning of something like this is a bit too much [sic]"
Madhura Naik:
Madhura stands with the government as the nation is known for its heritage and culture. Also, the actress feels parents don't find it easy to expose their children to such things at a very early age.
Mahika Sharma:
"To protect children from being unhealthy influences it's better to focus on their education. Creating taboos is not the solution. Creating healthy discussion can be. It is important to introduce sex and birth control education in senior school. Such ads dont affect much because the content of our screen has already rooted to more adult entertainment [sic]."
Roopal Tyagi:
Roopal says at a time when a country needs to seriously control its population, this move by the government doesn't seem apt.
