NGOs slam ‘misogynistic and sexist’ promo ads for TV show

Groups say marketing strategies should not be an excuse to push messages that humiliate and demean women.

The NGOs called for the promotional ads for the TV series ‘Pak Su Ammara’ to be removed, saying they are irresponsible and demeaning.

PETALING JAYA:

 A group of NGOs, including those that advocate for women’s rights, has hit out at “misogynistic and sexist” advertisements aimed at promoting a television show and are calling for them to be removed.

The NGOs said these promotional advertisements – for a television series titled “Pak Su Ammara” – comprised several messages revolving around marital life, which were displayed on MRT trains.

The messages include “A wife who refuses emotional and physical needs will sin and be kept far from heaven” and “What’s the point of a wife being highly educated if she can’t cook?”

The NGOs said they recognised that marketing strategies often rely on provocation and “clickbait” to attract attention and may not fully reflect the values of the show itself.

“However, it does not excuse messaging that humiliates women and reinforces the notion that women are inferior or obligated to submit to their spouses.

“What’s more, these highly irresponsible and demeaning messages are open to dangerous misinterpretation with the potential to influence individuals or communities towards gender discrimination,” they said in a joint statement.

Among the groups that panned the promotional advertisements were the Women’s Aid Organisation, the All Women’s Action Society, SIS Forum (Malaysia), Martabat PJ, Family Frontiers, and Tenaganita.

They said allowing a popular television show to disseminate messages like these “serves to normalise and reinforce dangerous and harmful assumptions and beliefs about the role of women in society”.

The NGOs called on the communications ministry to investigate how these ads were approved and allowed to be displayed in public advertising spaces.

They also urged MRT, Astro, and the show’s producers to remove them immediately and to apologise “for promoting these irresponsible messages”.

“Companies have a responsibility to ensure their attention-grabbing marketing tactics do not legitimise harmful gender norms.

“This incident highlights the urgent need for corporate marketing teams to be better educated on gender issues,” they said, adding that the ministry should establish clear guidelines to prevent harmful gender messaging in public advertising. - FMT