Doctor Nadim Uddin Siddiqui fixes his gaze on a camera in the shiny new studios of Health TV in Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub, and prepares to take the day's first question.
"My husband doesn't want to make love anymore, what should I do doctor?" the housewife asks over the phone.
In strait-laced Muslim Pakistan, a new TV show is trying to deal with the delicate subject of sex and embarrassing illnesses without angering conservatives.
Most of Pakistan's 80-odd television stations fill their airtime with cooking shows, soap operas, cricket and interminable chatshows debating the country's myriad political dramas.
But once a week, for an hour, Health TV does something very different: it takes questions from viewers on sex. Or more precisely, sexual problems.
"My husband only wants to do it once a week, sometimes once a fortnight, and it doesn't last very long," continues Ayesha the housewife, calling from the eastern city of Lahore.
The portly Siddiqui, his pearly white teeth glistening under the studio lights, doesn't miss a beat.
"We call this loss of libido...it occurs when you have a low level of testosterone. You should work on your husband's diet, feed him more fish and push him to exercise," he says.
"God willing your husband will get better."
Each Thursday "Clinic Online", which began airing a year ago, takes dozens of calls on subjects ranging from loss of libido and erectile dysfunction to questions about sexually-transmitted diseases, micro-penises and nymphomania.
"Sex is a very difficult matter in Pakistan, here it is very difficult to talk in open forum, in media, in any seminar. So whenever you talk about sex you should be very careful," Siddqui told AFP after the show.
He attributes the programme's success in part to highlighting issues around sexual diseases, which he says resonates even with the deeply religious, and takes pride in having avoided controversy -- so far.
"I have never seen a single person who is having any objection (to) me. They appreciate me because...if it is a disease, you have to treat (it). You must try to propagate your knowledge," he said.
Founded three years ago, Health TV is something of an odd fit in Pakistan, a conservative Islamic state of 180 million people which saw an explosion of private broadcasters in the early 2000s following the liberalisation agenda of former ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Pushing boundaries
Part of the Ziauddin network of private hospitals, Health TV says its mission is to improve health awareness in a country where access to a doctor can be difficult in rural areas and for those without financial means.
Sometimes religious conservatism can play a part in ignorance and poor health: gynaecologists are known refuse to examine unmarried women, who according to them should not be having sex.
"In our society, the woman, if she comes from a very conservative background, someone would have to take her to the doctor -- her mother, her sister," says Faizan Syed, the channel's director.
"This (the show) gives them that comfort of a hidden identity."
Syed stresses that the channel provides only an advisory role and people should still visit a doctor if they are concerned.
And the channel also offers advice to men.
"We are living in a conservative society and we hesitate to talk on such issues with our doctors," a laptop salesman and Health TV viewer Mehboob Ahmed, from Karachi, told AFP.
Other programmes deal with topical subjects like polio, the crippling disease still blighting Pakistan thanks in part to Taliban opposition to vaccination.
Even sensitive issues like abortion and breast cancer are covered.
"There was a time you couldn't even discuss breast cancer, because women didn't want to talk about their breasts, they didn't want to talk about their body because their husband might get upset," says Anoushey Ashraf.
Ashraf hosts a morning show where a cleric, a psychiatrist and a social worker have gathered to discuss abortion -- illegal in Pakistan except to save the mother's life.
The opinion of religious leaders carries a lot of weight in Pakistan and can add significantly to a doctor's arguments. What, for example, does Islam make of abortion?
"If anything like this is done to save the life of a mother, then sharia (Islamic law) allows abortion," says cleric Shahid Madani.
The public appear to agree, if the dozens of calls to each show are anything to go by -- though Pakistani channels guard their ratings jealously.
Health TV knows it is far from dethroning the biggest national channels. But it is confident of quietly growing its market share thanks to shows by the likes of Siddiqui and the glamorous Anoushey.
AFP
Thu Nov 27 2014
In this picture taken November 13, 2014, Anoushey Ashraf (L), hosts a morning show on Health TV in Karachi. AFP PHOTO/Asif HASSAN
Kanak-kanak Malaysia tidak cukup belajar di sekolah - Laporan Bank Dunia
Hanya 58 peratus pelajar di Malaysia didapati mahir membaca menjelang akhir Darjah 5.
Protes di universiti AS tidak tunjuk tanda perlahan
Dalam dua minggu lalu, protes pro-Palestin telah merebak ke kampus kolej utama di seluruh AS.
37 juta tan serpihan runtuhan di Gaza - UNMAS
Terdapat juga sejumlah besar senjata api yang tidak meletup tertimbus di dalam runtuhan yang menimbulkan risiko kepada kerja pembersihan.
Legenda EPL puji padang SNBJ
Pemain Manchester Reds dan Liverpool Reds memuji keadaan rumput yang cantik dan bersedia untuk kembali beraksi pada masa akan datang.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Dunia saling tidak percaya akibat kebergantungan dipersenjatakan - Naib Presiden Suruhanjaya Eropah
Fenomena hilang kepercayaan yang melanda komuniti antarabangsa ketika ini adalah akibat kebergantungan yang dipersenjatakan oleh beberapa pihak.
Che'gu Bard tiba di mahkamah bagi hadapi pertuduhan kes fitnah, hasut
Badrul Hisham, yang memakai baju Melayu berwarna hijau, dibawa oleh pihak polis ke mahkamah dalam keadaan bergari.
WCK sambung misi bantuan di Gaza
Operasi itu disambung sebulan selepas tujuh pekerja badan amal itu terbunuh dalam serangan udara Israel.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Dunia perlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi ke Orde Baharu - Menteri Luar Arab Saudi
Dunia memerlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi daripada Orde Dunia Lama kepada Orde Baharu.
Niaga AWANI: Jiwa SME: Permintaan daun moringa meningkat, jadi tumpuan luar negara
Berdasarkan laporan Vodus Market Research, sebuah firma penyelidikan dan analisis data pasaran dalam talian, kira-kira 71 peratus penduduk di negara ini mengambil suplemen pada 2021.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Niaga AWANI: FBM KLCI mencapai paras tertinggi walaupun ditengah cabaran Ringgit
Indeks FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI meningkat sebanyak 8.28% walaupun nilai matawang menurun sebanyak 3.79% berbanding dollar Amerika Syarikat (AS). Adakah trend ini akan berterusan sehingga bulan Mei akan datang? Kupasan lanjut bersama Ketua Penyelidikan dan Penasihat Kekayaan, Pengurus Portfolio, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors, Mohd Sedek Jantan.
Presiden Iran, Pakistan adakan pertemuan luas kerjasama
Presiden Iran, Ebrahim Raisi mengadakan pertemuan dengan Presiden Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, di kediaman rasmi Presiden di Islamabad dalam lawatan tiga hari beliau ke negara tersebut pada Isnin.
Hampir 100 maut di Pakistan ekoran hujan lebat dan banjir kilat
Hujan lebat mengakibatkan banjir kilat di Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan dan Wilayah Punjab serta Jammu dan Kashmir.
Pakistan sambut Aidilfitri hari ini, Bangladesh dan India rai Khamis
Umat Islam di Pakistan dan Sri Lanka meraikan Aidilfitri pada Rabu manakala mereka yang berada di Bangladesh dan sebahagian besar India akan menyambut perayaan itu Khamis.
Pakistan kecam serangan Israel ke atas kedutaan Iran di Syria
Pakistan mengecam sekeras-kerasnya serangan Israel ke atas kedutaan Iran di ibu negara Syria, Damsyik pada Isnin menyifatkannya sebagai peningkatan ketegangan di rantau bergolak itu.
PM Pakistan larang penggunaan karpet merah dalam acara rasmi
Larangan penggunaan permaidani merah dalam acara rasmi merupakan satu langkah kecil ke arah mengurangkan perbelanjaan di peringkat kerajaan.
5 pekerja China terbunuh dalam serangan pengganas di Pakistan
Kejadian berlaku apabila sebuah kenderaan dari Projek Hidroelektrik Dasu, yang sedang dibina oleh sebuah syarikat China diserang oleh pengganas.
Ishaq Dar dilantik sebagai Menteri Luar Pakistan
Bekas Menteri Kewangan Ishaq Dar dilantik sebagai Menteri Luar Pakistan yang baharu.
Umat Islam di Bangladesh, India dan Pakistan mula berpuasa pada Selasa
Arab Saudi mengumumkan anak bulan kelihatan pada Ahad dan Isnin merupakan hari pertama Ramadan.
Shehbaz Sharif angkat sumpah Perdana Menteri Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif mengangkat sumpah sebagai perdana menteri ke-24 Pakistan untuk penggal kedua pada Isnin.
Hujan lebat di Pakistan ragut 29 nyawa, 50 cedera
Sekurang-kurangnya 29 orang terbunuh dan 50 lagi cedera akibat hujan lebat yang melanda Pakistan dalam tempoh 48 jam lepas.