Popular Tamil YouTuber Irfan gets notice for videos on prenatal child's ‘gender reveal’; deletes clips
On Monday, Irfan also posted a video from a 'gender reveal party' attended by his family and friends, where the couple had announced that they were having a girl. During the function, he said that they had found out the sex of the foetus after a scan during their visit to Dubai, as seen in the video.
Aaliya and Irfan at their unborn baby's gender reveal party. (Screengrab)
CHENNAI: The state health department has sent a notice to popular YouTuber Mohammed Irfan on Tuesday for violating the PCPNDT Act, 1994, by revealing the sex of his unborn child in videos posted on his YouTube channel. Also, the department has asked the Tamil YouTuber to remove the videos about the prenatal sex determination test and subsequent disclosure.
The department has also warned that those involved in sex determination tests at scanning centers and hospitals would face strict action.
Irfan and his wife, Aaliya, had recently gone to Dubai to take a prenatal sex determination test. He had announced that Aaliya was pregnant a few weeks ago. He then posted a video titled 'Boy or Girl Baby? Gender Test' on his 'Irfan's view' channel on May 19 where Aaliya is shown undergoing the prenantal sex determination test at a hospital in Dubai, where it is legal, unlike in India.
"When I was born in 1993, my mother knew my gender. It was not a big issue then. It was stopped because many mad people were discriminating against female gender," Irfan says in the video.
On Monday, Irfan also posted a video from a 'gender reveal party' attended by his family and friends, where the couple had announced that they were having a girl. During the function, he said that they had found out the sex of the foetus after a scan during their visit to Dubai, as seen in the video.
"Ascertaining and announcing the gender of a child in India is prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) ACT 1994. Such an action will lead to a decline of the female birth rate besides leading to crimes against women," a release from the health department read.
Hence, a memo has been issued to Irfan for violating the provisions of the said Act. Also, a letter was sent to the Cyber Crime Division asking them to immediately remove the video uploaded by Irfan from social media, it said.
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, often known as the Prohibition of Sex Selection Act, was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1994. According to the Act, it is forbidden to employ any method to determine a foetus's gender after conception. It is also illegal to advertise services or goods that can be used for this purpose.
"The test to determine the gender was conducted in Dubai, where it is legally permissible. However, it is illegal to do sex determination test and reveal in India, and the notice has been issued as he had posted the video for publicity," said a senior official with the health department.
Meanwhile, Irfan has since removed both videos from his YouTube channel.
Irfan rose to fame by posting food reviews in Tamil on YouTube. In May last year, Irfan's SUV ran over a 52-year-old woman while she was crossing the GST Road. She died on the spot. A case had been filed against Irfan’s driver who was behind the wheel of the overspeeding car.
(With online desk inputs)