YNOT – Bangladesh’s cabinet has approved the country’s first-ever anti-pornography legislation. Under the new code, which still must pass muster in parliament before it becomes law, those who make or distribute sexually explicit material could face up to 10 years in prison.

“We don’t have any laws now to prosecute criminals who make pornographic materials and spread them through the internet and mobile phones,” Abul Kalam Azad, a spokesman for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, told global news agency AFP. “We hope the new law will prevent immoral behavior.”

In Bangladesh, as in many Muslim-majority countries, pornography is considered a social disease. Despite an unwritten, religiously based prohibition on the material, a string of recent celebrity sex tapes has provoked moral outrage and public scandal in the country. In one instance, a popular, married television actress was forced into hiding after a tape surfaced of her and her lover. Her shows subsequently were cancelled. In the latest incident, an explicit video posted online in April exposed the popular female co-host of World Cup Cricket having sex with an unidentified man.

Observers believe the law likely will sail through parliament.