Egyptian Media is for Adults Only

TV programs such as Bassem Youssef’s El Bernameg, Reem Magued’s Gamea Moanas Salem and Entesar’s Nafsina should not have been tried by their contemporaries for allegedly disrupting public morals and norms.

If Egypt had the most just and polite media in the world then yes, maybe we could have said that these shows went out of bounds and broke ethical foundations.

Abla Fahita, a TV puppet, continues Youssef’s satirical legacy, with the newly aired show Live From The Duplex. The show is broadcast from the same chair and studio that Youssef used to air his program; he walked away after receiving many threats. Will this ejector chair bring the same fate to Abla Fahita?

The audience shouldn’t be blamed for fearing that Live From The Duplex could be cancelled at any moment.

After all, a Facebook user was allegedly sentenced to three years in prison on charges of seeking to overthrow the government after depicting the president with Mickey Mouse ears.

Does anyone remember Abla Fahita’s Vodafone advertisement in December 2013 that was deemed by the Egyptian government as an “obvious” secret terrorist message against the army?

The response from the Egyptian General Prosecutor was to have the puppet investigated.

The puppet made of cloth and string has also recently come under fire for alluding to a tattoo at an undisclosed part of her body, and for a vox pop aired during her show that asked women what they would do if they caught their husbands cheating.

The puppet received scathing criticism that it was ruining our society and destroying traditional values passed on to our children.

“This puppet appearing in obscene scenes is putting our children in danger of getting infected with AIDS and syphilis,” said an Egyptian consultant of male diseases.

Really? And the rape, drug abuse, prostitution, murder and other vices that pepper all kinds of TV shows – some, even in Ramadan – are alright?

The issue of expression repression came to the fore some two weeks ago when actress Entesar, who co-hosts Nafsina, was described by her contemporaries as “abnormal’.

The tabloid press raged that she was destroying family values for encouraging people to have porn as a type of sex education before marriage.

Talk show rager Tamer Amin retorted that “Egyptian men have always been having sex without watching porn.” Does that not defeat the purpose of why Entesar was taken to trial in the first place?

If Egyptian media is really that concerned about children’s welfare then why does ranter Ahmed Moussa use vulgar language in his shows; why does Amin criticize Egyptian belly dancers and their video clips by visualizing how they dance or what they’re wearing.

Reham El Saeed talks about black magic and child rape, but is that not wrong for children? TV hosts allow interviewees to humiliate each other on their shows sacrificing all – even child welfare – for ratings.

Prominent lawyer Mortada Mansour told TV presenter Amr Adeeb on air recently that he is free to do what he wills on TV and the Egyptian viewer has the freedom to switch channels if unsatisfied.

Egyptian media lacks transparency and professionalism while demanding content free from obscenity.

If there is demand for obscene-free media, then it should start by following the ethical rules of journalism and delivering news to the masses.

But if we were to even begin to consider having obscene- free media, should we not, too, look at the plethora of local programming which can be rude, lewd and crude – and hold them equally accountable?

If I were to file legal cases against the majority of Egyptian journalists, especially TV anchors, I would start with the charge that most of them fill our screens at home with explicit language and ethically questionable material.

Blame Egyptian media’s inexperience and lack of intellectual fortitude.

Abla Fahita kicked off her debut episode by saying: “I personally believe that all of Egyptian media should be for adults.” I agree with Abla Fahita.

With all due respect to the supposedly well-educated and professional TV presenters, they have polluted the Egyptian home screen.