Md. Arafat Rahman :
Bangladesh’s Pornography Control Act defines pornography as sexually explicit gestures, nude or half-naked dance-movies, video images, audio-visual images, still images, illustrated images, or any other material that has no artistic value – will be considered pornography. In addition, pornographic books, magazines, sculptures, statues, cartoons, or pamphlets that cause sexual arousal will be considered pornography. Negative or soft versions of these will also be considered as pornography.
Pornography addiction is a proposed psychological model of addiction that defines a person’s inexorable sexual activity driven by the use of pornography-related goods, despite the negative physical, emotional, social, or financial consequences. Addicts can suffer from a variety of difficulties, including financial crises due to depression, social isolation, job loss, unemployment or the ill effects of pornography on their social life. In this age of free flow of information, internet facility is at hand today. This availability of the internet has made people’s daily lives more comfortable, but has brought a terrible danger for the young society through pornography.
The Pornography Control Act 2012 prohibits the carrying, exchange, use, sale, etc. of pornography in Bangladesh. The law was first approved by the Council of Ministers in the form of a bill. The bill was introduced by Home Minister Sahara Khatun on January 29 during the 1st session of the Ninth Parliament. The bill was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs for scrutiny. The Pornography Control Act 2012 was approved on 28 February 2012. Pornography production, storage, marketing, transportation, supply, purchase and sale are illegal and prohibited under this Act. Various provisions of punishment have been laid down for carrying out these prohibited acts.
It is completely illegal to produce or view or process pornographic material in Bangladesh. A 2009 report found that the rate of child pornography in Bangladesh has increased. It is also seen that 77 percent of the people addicted to pornography are very young. In 2015, the High Court of Bangladesh asked the government to stop spreading obscene material on social media. In 2016, Bangladesh government minister Tarana Halim announced plans to shut down pornographic websites.
Mustafa Jabbar, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Eleventh Parliament of Bangladesh, blocked access to about 20,000 pornographic websites from Bangladesh from November 2018 to February 2019. In addition, the government has promised to block the sending of pornographic site addresses or links to e-mail [email protected] with short code number 2872 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Pornography has been identified as a crime under the Pornography Control Act 2012. Under the current law, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment and / or a fine of Tk. 500,000.
The Pornography Control Act stipulates that a person who, knowingly or unknowingly, seduces a woman, a man or a child for the purpose of producing pornography, captures video or film can be sentenced to a maximum of 7 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 2 lakh. The bill also stipulates that if a person defames or blackmails someone through pornography or attempts to do so, the judge can impose a term of imprisonment of 2 to 5 years and, in addition, a fine of Tk 1 to 2 lakh. The maximum penalty for producing and distributing child pornography is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh.
According to the Pornography Control Act 2012, a person accused of making a porno CD or DVD can be arrested without an arrest warrant and his dormitory can be searched. Software, Converted Hardcopy, CD, VCD, DVD, Computer or any other digital or electrical device, Accessories, SIMs on mobile phones, Parts, any other device or parts, equipment or bag used in criminal activities to be presented as evidence or exhibition in court. Section 5 of the law stipulates that if a pornography allegation is found, it must be investigated by a police sub-inspector or an officer of the same rank within 30 days. If the investigation is required, the investigation can be extended for another 15 days with the permission of the senior officers and with the approval of the court for another 30 days.
Internet pornography users belong to the internet users and it has been found that the use of internet pornography is the only activity that in most cases leads the user to immoral behavior. This includes spending too much time watching pornography instead of communicating with others. Individuals exposed to excessive pornography may experience deteriorating social life, social isolation, loss of professional life, low productivity, or economic problems and suffers from a lack of confidence compared to sexual power of pornstars.
If it is not possible to arrest the accused within 7 days of the issuance of the arrest warrant under this Act, the court may order the accused to appear before the court by placing an advertisement in a national daily newspaper. If the accused does not surrender to the court within this period, the trial will be completed in his absence. If someone is found guilty of this crime, he can appeal against it within 30 days. In addition, the bill also provides for punishment for those who make false allegations. The state and the courts can take cognizance of the offenses committed under this Act as cognizable and non-bailable offenses without any charges.
Bangladesh’s Pornography Control Act defines pornography as sexually explicit gestures, nude or half-naked dance-movies, video images, audio-visual images, still images, illustrated images, or any other material that has no artistic value – will be considered pornography. In addition, pornographic books, magazines, sculptures, statues, cartoons, or pamphlets that cause sexual arousal will be considered pornography. Negative or soft versions of these will also be considered as pornography.
Pornography addiction is a proposed psychological model of addiction that defines a person’s inexorable sexual activity driven by the use of pornography-related goods, despite the negative physical, emotional, social, or financial consequences. Addicts can suffer from a variety of difficulties, including financial crises due to depression, social isolation, job loss, unemployment or the ill effects of pornography on their social life. In this age of free flow of information, internet facility is at hand today. This availability of the internet has made people’s daily lives more comfortable, but has brought a terrible danger for the young society through pornography.
The Pornography Control Act 2012 prohibits the carrying, exchange, use, sale, etc. of pornography in Bangladesh. The law was first approved by the Council of Ministers in the form of a bill. The bill was introduced by Home Minister Sahara Khatun on January 29 during the 1st session of the Ninth Parliament. The bill was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs for scrutiny. The Pornography Control Act 2012 was approved on 28 February 2012. Pornography production, storage, marketing, transportation, supply, purchase and sale are illegal and prohibited under this Act. Various provisions of punishment have been laid down for carrying out these prohibited acts.
It is completely illegal to produce or view or process pornographic material in Bangladesh. A 2009 report found that the rate of child pornography in Bangladesh has increased. It is also seen that 77 percent of the people addicted to pornography are very young. In 2015, the High Court of Bangladesh asked the government to stop spreading obscene material on social media. In 2016, Bangladesh government minister Tarana Halim announced plans to shut down pornographic websites.
Mustafa Jabbar, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Eleventh Parliament of Bangladesh, blocked access to about 20,000 pornographic websites from Bangladesh from November 2018 to February 2019. In addition, the government has promised to block the sending of pornographic site addresses or links to e-mail [email protected] with short code number 2872 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Pornography has been identified as a crime under the Pornography Control Act 2012. Under the current law, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment and / or a fine of Tk. 500,000.
The Pornography Control Act stipulates that a person who, knowingly or unknowingly, seduces a woman, a man or a child for the purpose of producing pornography, captures video or film can be sentenced to a maximum of 7 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 2 lakh. The bill also stipulates that if a person defames or blackmails someone through pornography or attempts to do so, the judge can impose a term of imprisonment of 2 to 5 years and, in addition, a fine of Tk 1 to 2 lakh. The maximum penalty for producing and distributing child pornography is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh.
According to the Pornography Control Act 2012, a person accused of making a porno CD or DVD can be arrested without an arrest warrant and his dormitory can be searched. Software, Converted Hardcopy, CD, VCD, DVD, Computer or any other digital or electrical device, Accessories, SIMs on mobile phones, Parts, any other device or parts, equipment or bag used in criminal activities to be presented as evidence or exhibition in court. Section 5 of the law stipulates that if a pornography allegation is found, it must be investigated by a police sub-inspector or an officer of the same rank within 30 days. If the investigation is required, the investigation can be extended for another 15 days with the permission of the senior officers and with the approval of the court for another 30 days.
Internet pornography users belong to the internet users and it has been found that the use of internet pornography is the only activity that in most cases leads the user to immoral behavior. This includes spending too much time watching pornography instead of communicating with others. Individuals exposed to excessive pornography may experience deteriorating social life, social isolation, loss of professional life, low productivity, or economic problems and suffers from a lack of confidence compared to sexual power of pornstars.
If it is not possible to arrest the accused within 7 days of the issuance of the arrest warrant under this Act, the court may order the accused to appear before the court by placing an advertisement in a national daily newspaper. If the accused does not surrender to the court within this period, the trial will be completed in his absence. If someone is found guilty of this crime, he can appeal against it within 30 days. In addition, the bill also provides for punishment for those who make false allegations. The state and the courts can take cognizance of the offenses committed under this Act as cognizable and non-bailable offenses without any charges.
(Md. Arafat Rahman is Asst. Officer, Career & Professional Development Services Department, Southeast University. E-mail: [email protected])
