Call to protect girls from fake sleaze video clips

Manama: A rights activist has called for the launch of campaigns to protect unsuspecting girls from the "flood of fake video clips that are ruining lives and destroying families".

"Several girls have found themselves implicated in fabricated sleazy scenes spreading wildly through the wireless and internet ... and since the supposedly long arm of the law is still too short to reach the culprits, we need strong campaigns to resist the ominous trend and protect the dignity and lives of many vulnerable people," Lamees Dhaif on Thursday told Gulf News.

"The evil phenomenon of using advanced technology to fabricate compromising video clips in which the faces of Bahraini girls are superimposed on actresses' bodies in sexual scenes ... is both evil and dangerous [and] those behind it should realise the repercussions on the girls, their families and friends," she said, adding that the recent increase in the practice warranted prompt action.

The activist said a young woman was devastated emotionally after a man inserted her picture in a sexually explicit clip and then circulated it through cell phones.

"There is also a university student whose life is in tatters now after someone added her name to a clip in a pornographic site. Although the clip does not show her face, allegations about her involvement in the sleazy scene have simply darkened her life," said Lamees, who as a social columnist receives several grievance letters from women weekly.

Regulation

Enhanced editing software and an eager audience have made fake and edited photographs and clips popular in several Arab countries.

Last October, MP Khalifa Al Dhahrani sought to have the government regulate the usage of the Bluetooth technology but the draft law has not been approved yet.

"The grave issue we are facing today is not only moral but also social and can easily erode trust between people. People usually do not seek to verify the authenticity of the clip and those who think that they can have fun engaging in such activities fail to realise the extent of their crime," said Lamees.

Campaign

Fighting 'scandals'

Reem Abu Eid, a Riyadh-based Egyptian author, and Saudi university student Aisha Al Hazami, launched the 'Ana Bashar' (I am a human being) campaign in December "to protect societies from the gravely dangerous immoral practices of ruining women's reputations".

The campaign has prompted some sites that featured alleged "scandals of Arab girls" to embrace the Ana Bashar campaign and drop all their pictures and clips.