Zambia: Pornovideo fyrer op under debat om køn, kultur og moral
For nylig dukkede et videoklip af en ung kvindelig studerende fra et af Zambias dyre universiteter, Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS), op på en hardcore pornohjemmeside (navn og link her udeladt). I videoen har hun sex med sin kæreste, og klippet har bredt sig som en virus blandt de zambiske netbrugere, der frit har delt linket med hinanden.
Zambia er en kulturelt konservativ og kristen nation, der anser sådan en type videoklip for at være amoralsk, men også ulovlig ifølge straffelovens kapitel 87 under zambisk lov, der betragter fremstilling og distribution af pornografisk materiale som en lovovertrædelse. De, der ikke overholder loven, risikerer fem års fængsel, hvis de kendes skyldige.
Sagen har skabt en masse debat på blogs, Facebook og Twitter. En zambisk blogger, Lwanga Mwilu, bragte kønsspørgsmålet ind i debatten. Den kvindelige part i videoen, der tilsyneladende er i familie med en af landets toppolitikere, er den, der er blevet mødt med mest fordømmelse.
Zambia Centre for Accountancy College i Lusaka. Foto kilde: Nahum Pembu Muwowo Facebook side.
Lwanga Mwilu skrev [en] :
When it comes to issues of “morality”, there is quite something to be said about male immunity against being tried and condemned in the courts of public opinion…and women’s lack of such immunity. And so when consensual sex finds itself being categorised as a scandal, you can be sure you will hear the woman’s name much longer after her partner has even forgotten he was ever part of the case.
I suppose some context is in order here. For several days now, Zambian cyberspace has been abuzz with reactions to a “sex tape”, featuring a college couple from the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) that has been leaked and circulated online. The comments, which are well in their hundreds or even thousands if you count across different online platforms, are varied yet their recurrent theme is the censuring of the young woman. She has been called lots of names, some of which even professional hookers would take offence at. I went through some readers’ comments on a few sites and I was so struck by the inequality in apportioning blame; the woman was taking all the flak, lots of it, while there was heavy silence about her partner. It was as though she was all alone in the video.
Når det kommer til “moralske” problemstillinger, er der ikke så lidt at sige om mandlig immunitet overfor de anklager og fordømmelser, der er den offentlige menings retssal… og kvindernes mangel på samme. Så når gensidigt accepteret sex bliver kategoriseret som en skandale, kan man være sikker på at høre kvindens navn blive omtalt lang tid efter, at hendes partner har glemt, at han overhovedet var en del af affæren.
Det er vist på sin plads med lidt kontekst her. I flere dage har det nu summet på zambisk internet med reaktioner på en “sex-video” med et par studerende fra Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS). Videoen blev lækket og cirkulerede rundt på nettet. Kommentarerne, der tæller flere hundrede eller endda tusinder, hvis man kigger på tværs af de forskellige online platforme, varierer, og alligevel er det tilbagevendende tema censureringen af den unge kvinde. Hun er blevet kaldt mange navne, deriblandt nogle som selv professionelle ludere ville blive fornærmet over. Jeg kiggede på læsernes kommentarer på nogle enkelte sites, og jeg blev virkelig slået over den ulige fordeling af skyld. Kvinden fik al den skarpe kritik, mens der herskede voldsom tavshed omkring hendes partner. Man skulle tro, hun var alene i videoen.
Mwilu langede også ud [en] efter intolerancen mellem kvinder og deres medsøstre, når de bliver involveret i utroskabssager:
Sometimes women seem to be the most intolerant of fellow women’s supposed failings. Consider concurrent sexual partnerships and what happens when some married men are discovered by their wives. A married man is discovered to be cheating by the wife, she goes after the woman he is cheating with, roughs her up, calls her all those colourful names and leaves her with a stern warning of what she will do to her if she dares go near her husband again. Then she goes back home, cooks for her husband, cleans up after him, laughs at his dry jokes and just pretty much preoccupies herself indulging her amnesia.
På Twitter undrer [en] en tweep, @tatendaprobert, sig over, hvor kvindegrupperne bliver af, når kvinden stadig angribes for sin rolle i videoen:
@lwangamwilu I surely think it is unfair for society to treat her like that where are women groups: WfC(Women for Change, an outspoken gender advocate NGO)?
En anden tweep, @missbwalya, fordømte [en] hykleriet blandt kvinder, der skælder mandens elskerinde huden fuld, når han bliver taget i utroskab:
@lwangamwilu ZCAS story has made it all the way out here too & the response is the same – Woman affixed w/ a scarlet letter.
@lwangamwilu skrev [en] :
The 1% where the guy is mentioned is largely about how good he was in the video. Says much about much. #ZCAS sex tape
På Facebook, startede Richard Banda Lcgi Meiz [en] en kampagne, som han håbede ville resultere i en anmodning til myndighederne om at redde hende, angiveligt fra forfølgelse:
”SAVE THE ZCAS LADY CAMPAIGN” – Let's sign a pettition and see how many love justice for the poor lady. If you say “YES” comment on this thread by just one word “YES” and post. Lets save the lady and we will petition the authorities to save the lady.
På Tumfweko [en] , et online nyhedssite der bragte historien, kunne man læse følgende svar [en] skrevet af en person, der kalder sig Zambia:
Ba zedi, ubu fontini mwa chilamo [Zambians you are too sleepy]. If youve never filmed yourself with your girlfriend, i guess ure still living in the 20s when a camera was hard to find. That video was not meant to become public, as you can clearly see, it was filmed from a webcam, if you know what that is. Which children are those? I doubt that there are any 7 year olds at ZCAS. Society has always had it bad and good sides, nothing is new. If our parents dint have sex, we wouldnt be here. Infact, back in the days when there was no AIDS, people were much more naughty. Dont make this seem like such a big thing. Dnt blow this out of proportion. They are not “actors” and no money changed hands. The only person who could have made a b(u)ck from that is the guy who stole the video and uploaded it onto the net, which i also highly doubt. Wake up!! …
