Women should not be used as advertising tool: Minister Sharma

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, May 4: Minister for Communication and Information, Technology, Rekha Sharma, said that women should not be used as an advertising tool.

Addressing a discussion program on gender responsibility held at Lalitpur on Thursday, Minister Sharma said that it should not be allowed to come to a situation where women have to be chosen as a subject for any other advertising topics.  

She said that some people might opine that women are chosen in advertisements for their beauty, but, that sentiment in itself is wrong.

She said, “The content of advertisements must be gender sensitive and should not intrude on any subject matter. Our constitution and laws should not be violated in any advertisement.”

“Why should women be chosen when advertising anything?" she questioned.

Minister Sharma said, “ It is said that it is because of the beauty of women, but I don’t think so as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Even men are beautiful.”

It is wrong that women are taken as a subject in advertising because of their beauty only. Advertisements should be free of any biases and should be gender responsible and sensitive.