Pakistan to release Joyland with ‘minor cuts’: what is the controversy over the country’s Oscar entry?

The ban became reminiscent of a Khoosat-directed venture, Zindagi Tamasha (Circus of Life), which was set for a domestic release in January 2020, having garnered accolades and critical acclaim at the 2019 Busan Film Festival. Two years later, the film’s release, however, remains in limbo after an Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) asserted that it may “lead people to deviate from Islam”. Interestingly, Zindagi Tamasha went on to become Pakistan’s Oscar entry in 2021.

Joyland, however, steered clear of a similar fate. On Tuesday, an aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Salman Sufi, tweeted that a high-level committee, constituted by the PM to assess the movie, had cleared it for release. Sufi told The Associated Press the film would be allowed to release in Pakistan with “minor cuts”.

“The decision is a simple yet powerful message that the government stands by freedom of speech and safeguards it, and cannot allow mere smear campaigns or disinformation to be used as choking creative freedom,” Sufi said.

The film #Joyland has been cleared for release by the Censor board review committee formed at the direction of PM @CMShehbaz

Freedom of speech is fundamental right & should be nourished within ambits of the law. #JoylandBan https://t.co/vQodv7fjOk

— Salman Sufi (Get New Covid Booster Today) (@SalmanSufi7) November 16, 2022

Joyland has already made history by becoming Pakistan’s first film to be screened at Cannes – a feat that ended with a prolonged standing ovation at the film festival. It also won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard competition, as well as the Queer Palm award, an independent prize for LGBTQ+ films entered into the Cannes film festival.

So, why was Joyland banned?

Shortly before it was slated to be released on November 18, the country’s Ministry of Broadcasting and Information declared Joyland as an “uncertified” film for cinemas in Pakistan that fall under the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC)’s jurisdiction.

Pakistan has three censor boards: the CBFC, which has jurisdiction over all areas other than two provinces, Sindh (Sindh Board of Film Censors) and Punjab (Punjab Film Censor Board), that have their own censor boards.

Prior to the ban, the film had been cleared by all three boards.

In a notification dated November 11, the Ministry said, “…written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality’ as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979.”

Section 9 states the Government of Pakistan has the power to deem a film ‘uncertified’ if it is “satisfied that it is necessary to do so in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or to prevent the commission of, or incitement to, an offence.”

Praising the ban, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senator of the religious Jamaat e Islami Pakistan (JIP) party, said, “Pakistan is an Islamic state, no law, no action, no ideology can be run against Islam.”

According to reports, religious groups have accused the filmmakers of promoting homosexuality.

But how does Pakistan law view transgenders?

Pakistan is among the countries that have remained at the forefront of trans rights. In 2009, its Supreme Court introduced a “third sex” in the country’s national identity cards. In 2018, the National Assembly passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Riqhts) Act which gives a transgender the “right to be recognised as per his or her self-perceived gender identity”. It also prohibits any form of discrimination against transgenders over education, employment, health, access to public services, holding public office, purchasing or renting property, and so on.

In a March 2020 report, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) called the Act “one of the more progressive gender recognition laws not just in Asia, but also globally.”

However, the Federal Shariat Court is hearing a petition moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan to amend the provision in the Act that allows a transperson to self-identify their gender, saying that a medical board should make that decision instead.

Despite the legislation, transgenders in Pakistan continue to face discrimination and even violence. According to the Trans Murder Monitoring project, from 2008 to September 2022, the number of transgenders murdered in Pakistan per million inhabitants was 0.457 – the highest among its South Asian neighbours including India, Afghanistan, Iran, China, and Tajikstan.

According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2022, in Pakistan, “women, religious minorities, and transgender people continue to face violence, discrimination, and persecution, with authorities failing to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators to account.” The report also cites widespread incidents of audio and video messages threatening transgenders in the capital city of Karachi in 2021.

Religious hardliners in the country have claimed that the Transgender Persons Act was passed under the West’s influence to allow homosexuality in the country.

Pakistan outlaws same-sex relationships, which can even attract the death penalty as a possible punishment for the act.

How did Joyland’s cast and crew respond?

Saim Sadiq, in an Instagram post on November 12, called out the Ministry for its “sudden U-turn”, saying the ban was “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal”. “We as a team are gutted by this incident and fully intend to raise our voice against this grave injustice,” he said.

According to Sadiq, the CBFC had ordered Punjab and Sindh censor boards to redact their certificates to the film as well, which is “unconstitutional” as the CBFC has no jurisdiction over the two provinces.

Alina Khan, the trans lead actor of Joyland – another first for a Pakistani feature film – in an interview with The Guardian, said the film had “nothing against Islam” and the trans community was “very upset” with the ban. “I don’t understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films,” she added.

Another actor, Rasti Farooq, told The Express Tribune, “It’s ironic that a film that is gently asking us to consider the consequences of (…) the way that our patriarchal systems and cultural norms can somehow really harm people—whether that’s a man or a woman or a person from a vulnerable community—is considered a ‘threat’ to Pakistan.”