Double standards

Feb 15, 2005

THE Media Council has summoned the organisers of the controversial play, The Vagina Monologues, due to be staged this Saturday.

THE Media Council has summoned the organisers of the controversial play, The Vagina Monologues, due to be staged this Saturday. The Media Council should indeed monitor the media. It is, however, extraordinary that the Media Council has never summoned the Red Pepper, a newspaper that glorifies the sexual abuse of women, while it is worried about The Vagina Monologues, a serious play with no nudity that condemns violence against women.

Last Friday, the Red Pepper ran a graphic and titillating story about a college student returning home for holiday and enjoying sex with his sister.

The authorities say that the problem with the Vagina Monologues is the title rather than its content.

Why is the Media Council more worried about the word ‘vagina’ in a play’s title rather than a newspaper story that graphically revels in describing incest, a serious criminal offence?

The contradiction becomes more acute since the Red Pepper is available all across Uganda whereas a small audience will pay sh20,000 to watch the single show of the Vagina Monologues at the Ndere theatre.

Where is the greater danger? Such double standards reflect badly on Uganda.
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