Word: bans
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...opposition to this trend is hardly confined to conservatives: The government ban on the Bollywood serials passed by near unanimity in parliament, with support from U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai...
...Shukria Barakzai, one of the few parliamentarians who voted against the ban, sees it as a sign of government impotence in the face of real issues. "There is poverty, there is corruption and there is a lack of security. What bill is the parliament providing for that?" she asks. "Why are you stopping TV shows when you can't stop rape cases across the country? Why are you stopping women dancing on TV when you can't stop young boys dancing for the men who sexually abuse them? They do this because they have no other ideas...
...stations have pulled the "offending" serials, but Saad Mohseni, director of Tolo TV, has refused, calling the ban illegal and ill-defined. He may eventually have to acquiesce, although he has plenty of other programs to fill the gap. Tolo already airs the terror-themed Hollywood drama 24, while a Korean mini-series and an Afghan-made soap opera have proved popular. So, it's not the ratings effect of dropping Tulsi that worries him, Mohseni says; it's the precedent. "Is this going to cut back on what we enjoy, freedom of expression? The Indian shows go first, then...
...Indeed, some members of parliament recently proposed a ban on loud music, video games, billiards, playing with pigeons and public mingling between men and women - prohibitions familiar from the Taliban era. In January a university student was sentenced to death for an Internet posting questioning Islam's treatment of women. A few months earlier, a prominent journalist was jailed for translating the Koran into Dari, a local language. The trend worries Barakzai, prompting her to ask, "Why are we even bothering to fight the Taliban...
...Tuesday's warning comes on the heels of increasing tension between Ahmadiyah followers and Muslims in Lombok and West Java in recent years. In April, a joint ministerial team issued a recommendation that the government ban the group, which subsequently encouraged hardliners to step up pressure on the group and the government to issue a formal ban. Unidentified groups razed an Ahmadiyah mosque two weeks ago in West Java, threatening further violence if the group continued to defy the April 16 ministerial recommendation that the group be outlawed. Similar attacks, with few casualties thus far, have taken place in Sumatra...