Bedroom tips and sexy photos in a monthly magazine were just too much
for Myanmar’s government, which yanked the publication’s license despite a new
era of reforms and increased personal freedoms.
The monthly magazine “Hnyo,” was
ordered to stop publication, according to an announcement on the Ministry of
Information’s website. Billed as a fashion magazine, “Hnyo” published pictures
of scantily clad women paired with articles discussing sexual themes, including
bedroom tips, in its December issue. Myanmar officials said on the website post
that the magazine violated regulations by publishing such material, since the
magazine was licensed only to cover fashion.
In August, Myanmar abolished
direct censorship of media, ending the long-standing practice of requiring
newspapers and magazines to submit their articles to government censors for
inspection. The Ministry of Information now allows political, religious and
other newspapers and magazines to publish without prior approval, though it has
since then temporarily suspended weekly newspapers.
Unlike neighboring Thailand or
the Philippines, Myanmar is a relatively conservative society that typically
shies away from overt displays of sexuality. Magazines like FHM – the UK-based
men’s lifestyle magazine featuring women in seductive poses and lingerie – has
toned-down versions available in Malaysia and Singapore, but no equivalent is
found on newsstands in Myanmar.
Officials from the Ministry of
Information could not be reached for further comment.
At a meeting for publishers,
printers and others involved in the media industry, Ye Tint, who chairs a
government committee managing printed materials, said Wednesday that one
magazine – referring to “Hnyo” – and six journals “went beyond the genres they
originally admitted to.” Mr. Ye Tint
said the magazine “published a near pornography,” according to a report
from the New Light of Myanmar, the government’s official newspaper.
But the editor of “Hnyo,” Ko Oo
Swe, told The Associated Press that the question of whether the magazine’s
material was sexually arousing depended on “the eyes of the beholder.” Mr. Ko
Oo Swe said other magazines have published material deviating from their
charters but were not shut down.
“What I want to tell the
government is to treat all publishers equally,” he said, according to The
Associated Press.
Mr. Ko Oo Swe said in local media
interviews that his magazine, launched in November, furthers sex education in
the country. He denied charges his magazine is as racy as the likes of FHM and
Playboy.
Myanmar, which is just getting
used to increased freedoms and far lighter censorship after decades of
repressive military rule, has little sex education in schools. According to
UNAIDS, 220, 000 people in Myanmar, or 0.6% of the population, currently live
with HIV in part because of poor education around safe sex practices.
Shibani Mahtani
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