The Audiovisual Council has issued a warning to the “ARB” television channel at its online meeting

On May 26, 2025 the Audiovisual Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan held an online meeting to discuss statements made during the “Elgizle izle” program broadcast on the "ARB" television channel on May 21, 2025.

In the mentioned program, during a discussion on male-female and family relations, the host and a guest expressed the following opinions: "A woman cannot be left uncontrolled. Women themselves admit this - if you give her freedom, the family is destroyed. That's it, the end...", "In general, they say that to get to know a woman, you have to give her money and freedom. Then you will understand who she really is...", "Give her money and freedom. And then can you stop her? If you give a woman both, you won't be able to stop her...".

The specialists of the Department for Monitoring and Analysis of audiovisual programs of the Council’s Office identified these statements as a violation of Article 14.1.4 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Media", classifying them as promoting gender-based discrimination. Subsequently, in accordance with relevant procedures, this violation was also confirmed by the lawyers of the Audiovisual Council.

After thorough discussion, the members of the Council unanimously agreed that the dialogue should be interpreted as promoting gender-based discrimination. As a result, the Audiovisual Council issued a warning to the "ARB" television channel and emphasized that all broadcasters must strictly adhere to the requirements of the law when addressing such topics in their programs.