The regressive elements within our society are at it once again. After earning ac­colades at Cannes, garnering rave reviews at the international festival circuit and being considered a favourite for a nomination at the Golden Globes, Paki­stan’s submission to the Oscars may not see a big screen release in its own land. This does not come as a surprise given the history of our censor board, but the anticipa­tion for this movie has been really high and the news has been met with devastating disappointment since the movie was initially cleared by all the censor boards.

According to reports, a letter initiated by the Ministry of Information and Broad­cast (MoIB) deemed the previously certified film ‘uncertified’, mentioning that written complaints were received that film contains highly objectionable material, which does not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly re­pugnant to the norms of decency and morality. It is quite laughable how arbitrarily and opportunistically norms of decency and morality are invoked, except when women are subjected to smear campaigns, beaten to death, or kids are subjected to sexual abuse.

The MoIB letter raises a couple of important questions. First, it cites complaints which were received following the release of the film, but the film is scheduled to re­lease on November 19. So, who saw the film apart from the censor boards and raised the complaints is unclear. Second, following the 18th amendment, CBFC’s jurisdic­tion has been ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory), cantonment areas across the coun­try and provinces that don’t haven’t formed their own boards yet, i.e KP and Balo­chistan. Therefore, considering that the film was certified with minor objections by all censor boards, if the MoIB letter is executed, it would mean that the Federal gov­ernment is overriding the decision made by the provincial censor boards.

JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan has been spearheading the campaign against the movie as he last week urged the government to stop its release because of the “anti-Islam” values it promotes. The JI as a party is solely focused on regressive pol­itics with nothing concrete to offer as a political entity. This has happened in the case of other movies as well in the recent past, and it is unfortunate to see the au­thorities enable and bend to the most extreme elements of our society.

This is a case of blatant transphobia and arbitrary censorship. There seems to be no issue with hyperviolence, regressive themes, adult jokes and content, or overt sexualisation onscreen, but God forbid if we humanise and lend dignity to a community that has been on the receiving end of violent attacks and otherisation. The only thing that is not in line with our societal norms is the fact that the movie speaks about real issues without sweeping them under the rug.