CCZ calls for morals in the media

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:04:55 +0000

The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has called for increased moral judgement in the public media against the conscious use of unpleasant pictures in some of the daily tabloids which deliberately expose near naked women in suggestive sexual positions to sell their newspapers.

CCZ secretary General Suzanne Matale said the dances and the obvious alcohol abuse by the patrons at such occasions raises the questions about the motive behind publishing photos which appear in the weekend publications of some newspapers.

Reverend Matale said to instil morality and entrench value chain in the lives of especially our young people, the media as a major stakeholder should help give guidance for moral cultural standing in society.

“At the time when the country is crying out against the rampant moral degradation, the ever increasing cases of sexual and gender violence, the breakdown in community values and principles, the uncontrolled substance abuse, such pictures in a newspaper does nothing to help the country curb the ills it is grappling with at the moment,” Reverend Matale said.

She argued that although the internet could be used as an example for worse off media publications and that people can choose to see or not to see, Zambia was still too young to deal with the damage that would be done to the young people who were potential adults of tomorrow.

“When our children are subjected to such pictures day in day out they begin to think it is the norm and once this entrenches in their minds there is no telling to what extent the damage would have been done to these potential adults of tomorrow,” she explained.

Rev Matale said although it was unspoken that papers must sale, it should not be at the expense of the young people and the moral cultural standing of society.

Meanwhile, Rev Matale has appealed to government to revisit the so called traditional dancers ‘entertainment’ which portray sexual scenes exhibited at public functions by both men and women.

The Reverend cited some traditional dances which were meant for ‘private’ occasions such a pre-marriage counselling sessions which must be respected and kept as such, have been abused and br ought out in public in the name of entertainment..

“As far as we know, some of the so called traditional dances were never meant for public consumption, they were for a specific purpose and a specific occasion and usually performed in the privacy of homes or during counselling preceding a wedding,” she pointed out.