Africa Censorship News

No child under 10 should ever play any video game without adult supervision, according to updated rules for South Africa's censors due to come into effect in August.

The Film and Publication Board  issued an overhauled version of its 40-page set of its censorship rules for the classification committees that have the power to ban movies and games in South Africa.

Those rules were last updated in 2019, when blasphemy was dropped in deciding how content should be classified. Many of the detailed changes are specific to games, such as new ways in which competitive intensity should be considered in the context of games that reward violence. The rule changes that has caught the eye is that there is no 'All ages' age rating for games. The new guidelines read:

Children are not allowed to play a game classified 'PG' [the lowest level of classification available] unless and only when supervised by an adult, because even such games may have elements disturbing or harmful for children.

For the next level up, the same rule holds: Children from the ages of 7 to 9 years are not allowed to play a game classified '7-9PG' unless supervised by an adult.

Only at age 10 does the prohibition of solo play fall away.

The government of Nigeria has ordered all open-access online platforms to remove, disable or block access to all pornographic content.

Although the introduction to the order, which was issued last week, specifically targets any non-consensual content, which displays partial or full nudity, sexual acts, deep fake or revenge porn, a less-prominent section expands the ban to all illegal material and orders platforms to inform users through the terms of service not to create, publish, promote, modify, transmit, store or share any content or information that is defamatory, libelous, pornographic, revenge porn, bullying, harassing, obscene, encouraging money laundering, exploiting a child, fraud, violence or inconsistent with Nigeria's laws and public order.

The order was made public last Tuesday, with all platforms available given only 24 hours to comply.

It is unclear what the reach and success of the measure has been in practice.

The Lady Of Heaven is a 2021 UK action drama by Eli King
Starring Ray Fearon, Denise Black and Christopher Sciueref

The heart-wrenching journey of Lady Fatima, the daughter of the religious character Muhammad. Separated by 1400 years, an Iraqi child, in the midst of a war-torn country, learns the importance and power of patience. After losing his mother, the child finds himself in a new home, where a loving grandmother narrates the historical story of The Lady and how her suffering as the first victim of terror spun out of control into the 21st century.

Moroccan film censors have banned the British film Lady of Heaven, after it was condemned by the country's religious council.

The Supreme Ulema Council said the movie was a flagrant falsification of the established facts of Islam. The council accused the film of loathsome partiality and accused the filmmakers of seeking fame and sensationalism and hurting the feelings of Muslims and stirring up religious sensitivities.

The BBC's Religion Editor, Aleem Maqbool, says the criticism centres on the the way the Shia Muslim film-maker and cleric, Yasser Al-Habib, has portrayed prominent revered figures in early Sunni Islam, implying that there are comparisons between their actions with those of the Islamic State group in Iraq.

There have been protests against the film in the UK. Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq have also denounced it.

Badhaai Do is a 2022 India comedy by Harshavardhan Kulkarni
Starring Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar and Sheeba Chaddha  

Shardul Thakur and Suman Singh enter into a marriage of gay convenience but chaos ensues when her girlfriend comes to stay with them.

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KCFB) has banned a gay-themed Indian film titled Badhaaai Do .

Sammy Wambua, the Film Board's acting Chief Executive said that the film tries to directly influence the viewer into believing that homosexuality is a normal way of life. He added:

The multiple scenes of lesbian and gay affection depicted in the film are in complete disregard of our cultural values and beliefs. The film in question overtly disregards our laws, constitution, and sensibilities as a people.