No Pron for You!

Mezba:

The fun intensified in Grade 10, during our O Levels Biology course. There was a rumor that the chapter on Human Reproduction had vivid diagrams. As soon as everyone got the books, all the students dove straight for page 180.

And they were bitterly disappointed.

There was a biological diagram of the process, including the "moment" (when two becomes one). Unfortunately for the students, Mr Gazali of the Bookstore had taken considerable pains to use a black marker to completely shade out the offensive material on the 40 or so textbooks.

Pron Nazis!

The use of magic markers in other contexts: Slouching Towards Burqa.

Often in Saudi Arabia, I would come across certain pages of magazines that would look odd. Upon closer inspection, it would become clear that someone had taken a black marker to "cover up" the flesh of the various women in the advertisements. Devilish parts such as ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows and arms would no longer be visible to the Muslims of Arabia, thus saving them from doom and certain blindness.

Those Crazy Shamshoons:

I used to read a weekly Urdu magazine from Pakistan called Akbar-e-Jehan. It would have a one or two-page sports section with a few choice photos. Sometimes, the mag would print a photo of a female tennis player and there would be, I assume, Saudi guys whose job was to mark out the naked legs of the player with a permanent marker. Similarly, in the ads, I would see women with smiling faces and "a magic burqa" covering their legs. Sometimes, entire pages would be ripped out from the magazine, so I didn't get to know what offended the regime or the Muttawa.

No magic markers are involved but I can't help but excerpt the next paragraph from the same post:

In the early 90s with the legal sales of satellite dishes, every devout Saudi could get Baywatch in his home. Many religious nuts tried hard to have the dishes banned but failed. Think about that. So fragile is their religion, they think it'll shatter if exposed to Pamela's hypnotic tits.

Comments

[Matt]

"thus saving them from doom and certain blindness." What a good service saving people from blindness! ;-)

I just like the turn of phrase in that line.

[nik]

it is remarkable that you came out in open and said such thing thoughts are meant to provoke the process of thinking they are the ones who pocking the fingers in the matters of other's life and make it miserable keep doing the good work buddy