Govt withdraws Bill on Women portrayal in media | Economic Times

The government has decided to withdraw the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2012, saying the new IT rules and the home ministry’s cyber portal are already addressing the issues, making online spaces safer for women.The bill was sent to the standing committee which had suggested a few changes. The amendments proposed making indecent portrayal of women on Internet, OTTs, WhatsApp and Instagram punishable with a fine of ₹2 lakh and a prison term of up to three years. The original law, enacted in 1986, relates primarily to the print media and vulgar portrayal of women in advertisements, books and paintings, and has a prison term of up to two years and a fine of ₹2,000.The WCD ministry says at least five legislations including the Cinematography Act, the new IT rules, the CBFC guidelines, apart from the provisions of the IPC, are already dealing with the modern means of media and have provisions to specifically address the issues.“We noticed that although there was a lot of consultation with stakeholders, the proposed amendments do not address the legal vacuum. In fact, even during court proceedings, the Act is applied along with section 67 of the Act,” an official said.The new IT rules lay special emphasis on empowering women against online hate. The official said the MHA in 2018 implemented the ‘cyber crime prevention against women and children’ scheme under which an online national portal has been facilitating reporting of crimes related to child pornography, child sexual abuse, rape and gang rape or use of sexually explicit material on social media. “There was a body that had to be set up under the NCW to address complaints regarding indecent representation of women in TV shows and advertisements, and it was to have representatives from Advertising Standards Council of India, Press Council of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and gender experts. But the IT rules anyway mandate a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism with such bodies at different levels, including an inter-ministerial committee under the watch of the ministry,” Mitali Joshi, a lawyer on IT and broadcast laws told ET.