(FXI/IFEX) – FXI has expressed shock over the number of books that South Africans are unable to access due to the existing gap between the current legislation and the ban placed on them during apartheid. There are approximately 18,000 titles on a banned book list drawn up by the apartheid government and listed in a […]
(FXI/IFEX) – FXI has expressed shock over the number of books that South Africans are unable to access due to the existing gap between the current legislation and the ban placed on them during apartheid. There are approximately 18,000 titles on a banned book list drawn up by the apartheid government and listed in a 560-page document called “Jacobson”.
FXI welcomes the announcement by the Film and Publication Board that it will remove Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” from the banned book list. However, FXI believes it is totally unacceptable that in a democratic country, where the constitution protects an individual’s right to receive information and express themselves, thousands of books are out of the public’s reach because there is a gap in the legislature.
In South Africa, illiteracy is high and many people have no access to books. The banning of thousands of books is a further impediment to the fight against illiteracy and contrary to the government’s commitment to eradicate illiteracy. Unlike television programmes, books give the public an ability to choose which books to read, at their own pace and on their own time.
Legal Advisor of the Film and Publication Board Iyavar Chetty says the only books that are effectively banned are those that contain child pornography. He states that in order for these books to be made available to the public an application must be made to remove them from the banned list. This limitation is not set out in the Constitution. Moreover, the Film and Publication Board argues that the 1996 Film and Publication Acts removed the ban on many books. However, FXI states that there are still many books that South Africans cannot access.
Although the 1974 Publication Act was scrapped and replaced by the more progressive 1996 act, which saw the birth of the Film and Publication Board, there is still a gap in the legislation. FXI feels that the government is aware of the problem and should be able to pass a law that would eradicate this problem.
The organisation also notes that the government should not blame the past regime for the current problems that can be solved, as this does not advance the political and social development of a democratic society. FXI states that something must be done to improve this situation.
