Cairo: An Egyptian state media regulator has banned a weekly TV talk show, accusing it of posing a threat to society’s values and incitement against men.
The Higher Council for Media Regulation this week ordered the controversial show entitled “Damn Men” taken off air on Egyptian private television stations Al Nahar and Al Qahera Wal Nas.
The decision was taken after investigations concluded that the programme, hosted by Lebanese anchor Raghida Chalhoub, “spreads concepts alien to societal values,” the regulator said.
The show hosts female celebrities to comment on their experiences with men.
Some male viewers slammed the show, charging it with inciting against them.
“The episodes of the programme included words that outrage public morality and constituted prejudice against men as well as underestimating them,” the regulator added in a statement.
The regulator, led by veteran Egyptian journalist Makram Mohammad, said that the ban will remain in place until both broadcasters change the format and content of the three-month-old show in order to “respect family values”.
Al Nahar TV network said it “respects” the council’s decision and will overhaul the show.
Its host, Chalhoub, disclosed that the name of the programme will be changed to become “Long Live Women”, hinting that it will hit the airwaves again.
The anchor, however, defended the old version of the show.
“It was and will be an entertainment programme featuring realistic cases of women artists, who have suffered from real problems with men,” Chalhoub added in a Facebook post.
Some Muslim clerics, meanwhile, hailed the decision to halt the show. “The name of the programme was very bizarre,” said well-known TV preacher Khaled Al Guindy. “Man means tenderness, warmth, devotion, sacrifice, dignity, a good example and containment. No need to split up society,” he added on his show at private Egyptian TV station DMC.
