WUNRN
The mostly Muslim nation of
This balance between a secular and sectarian
society has largely been the result of
The emergence of politicized Islam has posed
a challenge to civil society groups determined to uphold democracy, human
rights, and women’s rights. Women groups in many Muslim countries are at the frontline
in challenging the religious establishment and their justification of the
subordination of women and discrimination against them. Yet their efforts are
constrained by religious norms that make even basic women’s rights appear
radical.
One Malaysian civil society group that has
sought to challenge the long-held view that Muslim women should be subservient,
submissive and should not have equal rights has been Sisters-in-Islam (SIS).
SIS exists as a group of professional women
who promote women’s rights within the framework of Islam. SIS believes that
Islam does not endorse the oppression of women and that Islam has been
misinterpreted in the justification of the cultural practices that make women
inferior and subordinate to men.
For fundamentalists, SIS has been criticized
that its agendas are the product of Western tradition, which is not
transferable to Islam. And while the group has generally been well received
outside of
In response to criticisms, Zainah Anwar, the
founder of SIS argues, “I want an Islam that upholds the
principles of justice, equality, freedom and dignity,” she said. “There is
nothing contradictory between wanting these principles to guide and govern your
life and being a good Muslim.”
Not surprisingly, the connection of Malaysian
women’s rights to politics, gender identity and Islamization have pushed the
progressive women’s groups to reach an understanding of Malaysian women’s
rights that is consistent with the universal concept of human rights.
Nonetheless the need to justify even basic rights for women suggests the
struggle many women face in their daily lives. The temptation to give in, in
order to ‘fit in’, is evident.
For every group that tries to advance women’s
rights in conservative societies there is inevitably a group that will push
women back to their subservient corner. One group, the Obedient Wives Club,
seeks to encourage Muslim women to follow the wishes of their husbands, which
can include prostitution. The argument that groups like the Obedient Wives Club
makes is that at the root cause of infidelity and domestic violence is the fact
that Muslim women have failed to fully satisfy their husbands. Significantly it
is not the perpetrators who are held accountable, but women themselves who are
held to have failed in some way that has invited violence, thereby excusing men
for their violent behaviour.
While the Obedient Wives Club has received a
fair amount of criticism for its stance on domestic violence and prostitution
as being a possible avenue to save many troubled marriages, its president,
Rohaya Mohamed, argues that her group isn’t exclusively for Muslim women and
that women of all faiths can join. Their ultimate goal is to counsel women
about how to be better wives and how to make any fault in a relationship be
that of women.
“A man married to a woman who is as good or
better than a prostitute in bed has no reason to stray. Rather than allowing
him to sin, a woman must do all she can to ensure his desires are met,” suggested Rohaya Mohamed.
However, Sisters-in-Islam’s Ratna Osman notes
this extraordinary argument provides justification for men’s violent behaviour,
“Abusive men often use women’s behavior as a sick justification, but in the
end, their actions are their responsibility.”
National Public Radio reported in January of this year that the
Obedient Wives Club has since moderated their positions on a whole host of
issues after receiving significant pushback from Malaysian society.
“The group appears to have toned down its
rhetoric since last year, when media quoted members as saying that wives should
satisfy the sexual desires of their husbands like prostitutes. Club member
Hajiera Hartley explains that the group is simply giving its members the basic
information they request about sex and marriage. ‘Simple things like, how do
people kiss. Honestly, the Malays do not know how to kiss,’ Hartley says.”
In the decades ahead, women’s rights in
This bodes poorly for women as history
demonstrates that an increase in fundamentalists’ hold on power goes hand in
hand with a degradation of women’s rights.
It is hoped that as civil society groups and
in particular, women’s rights groups make inroads within Malaysian society they
may be able to progress women’s rights. This will be highly dependent on their
influence on all levels of government, the activism of civil society groups,
and the support of local women’s organisations.
Fundamentally it is also dependent on
external transnational rights groups and organisations such as the UN stepping
up the pressure for women’s rights. Censure by the global community is
essential if women are to be viewed as equal citizens in any society.