Dhaka (dpa) – The Bangladeshi cabinet approved an anti-pornography law on Monday, including a maximum 10-year jail sentence for the production, distribution and exhibition of pornography using children. The proposed Pornography Control Act-2011, which would be the country's first ever anti-pornography law, was approved at a weekly cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, said spokesman Abul Kalam Azad. It proposes a ban on the production, preservation, marketing, carrying, distribution, sale and display of any form of pornography, which has become a source of increasing concern in the Muslim-majority country. “A law is badly needed to prevent the decay of moral and social values as demonstration of pornography is responsible to many extents for social disturbances and criminal activities,” says an introductory statement to the draft law. If passed by parliament, where it is set to be debated at the end of January, the production, distribution and exhibition of pornography would be punishable with a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a fine of 200,000 taka (2,440 dollars). The distribution of pornography through websites or mobile devices would be punishable by a maximum five-year sentence and 200,000 taka fine. Videos and photography featuring erotic poses, acting, gestures and half-naked dances are to be defined as pornography under the law. Books and magazines containing sexually stimulating content as well as sculptures and leaflets will also be subject to the law. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/gCWlA Tags: Bangladesh, Child Pornographer, Pornography Section: Latest News, South Asia
