2.2 Standards of art in Zimbabwe – The framework The National Cultural Policy of Zimbabwe defines arts as all forms and traditions of dance, music, visual arts, crafts, design, literature, film and theatre, which serve as a means for individual and collective creativity and expression. The Censorship Act, which in principle violates the Constitution, spells out the standards of works of art, by providing for the limitation and circumstances which will require the Censorship Board to censor artistic works thus limiting artistic expression. Art is to be considered art if it does not fall under the following broad elements, (i) undesirable, (ii) indecent or obscene, (iii) offensive or harmful to public morals. Furthermore, if it is considered contrary to the interest of defence, public safety, public order or the economic interests of the state or public health, the board may go ahead and declare the items under this category prohibited. The eight standards set out in the Censorship Act are the criteria the legislature wished to impose on society. However, the challenge with these standards is that they have not been clearly defined, therefore leaving a lot of room for abuse by the Censorship Board. Failure to define the standards makes the law fall short of international obligations and violates them. Any limitations of rights must be stated with reasonable clarity to enable those affected to either challenge them or conform their conduct to the law. In Zimbabwe artistic expression that seems to go against the political norm is censored. It is important to note that the Censorship Board has also censored pornographic material which would fall in the category of indecent or obscene. There are cases where material of gays and lesbians has been censored and some gay and lesbian activists have been arrested and tried for criminal activity in the magistrates’ courts. It must be stated that, even though it was a case of obscenity, once the gay and lesbian element was involved, the whole process also became a political issue on account of the centrality of same-sex relations being used as a bargaining chip during political campaigns in the run up to 2013 general elections. 43 | P a g e