The Malaysian Insight

IT is deplorable for a PAS deputy minister to come out with a two-minute video advising husbands to physically “touch” their wives in a “soft but firm” way to discipline them, Sisters of Islam (SIS) said.

The Muslim women’s welfare group said it was unacceptable and deplorable for Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, who is deputy minister of the Ministry of Women and Family Community Development, to advocate women as being inferior beings who deserve to be reprimanded and corrected for their behavior.

The group further chastised the minister and said the video by Siti only displayed her cluelessness on the realities of women and how to address women and children’s issues, especially domestic violence.

“She seems to be blind and unaccepting of women’s realities. The rhetoric about husbands being allowed to discipline their wives is delivered without deep reflection and connection with the realities that women face,” SIS said in a statement.

“How can she be oblivious to the increasing number of domestic violence cases during the period of this pandemic?”

According to the minister, a total of 9,015 domestic violence cases were recorded from the start of the movement control order (MCO) in March 2020 until August 2021.

The Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) also reported a high number of enquiries through its SMS/WhatsApp (3,512) and telephone calls (3,599) in 2021.

“Is the deputy minister not worried about these high numbers? What action has she taken to address this and why is this video allowed in the first place?”

SIS said the video by Siti Zailah which mentioned that husbands are allowed to strike their wives with a soft yet firm physical touch is “dangerous and misleading” as there is no such thing as a husband hitting a wife gently.

“Violence is violence and there is no justification on how a husband should ‘educate’ or ‘reprimand’ a wife.”

“Furthermore, the narrative that a husband is allowed to educate his wife by hitting her gently arguably opens the door to violence especially since there has yet to be a wife who has complained that she has only been gently hit by her husband.”

SIS said in the last 30 years, women’s groups have been advocating to end domestic violence, the narrative that a husband is allowed to gently beat his wife is no longer accepted nor tolerated, even in most Muslim-majority countries.

It said the video is highly embarrassing for the ministry and the current government as it demonstrates that the minister is stuck in very old ways of interpreting and thinking about the status of women in relationships and that they can never be regarded and treated as equals to their husbands.

SIS said instead of Siti Zailah acting in her role as a deputy minister to push for gender equality and end domestic violence that would relate to all women in Malaysia in the current context, the minister chose to release a video that perpetuates and supports the treatment of women as unequal persons in a marriage who may be subjected to discipline and correction by physical means.

“The ministry of women, family, and community development, as well as the Perikatan Negara government, must realise that having a deputy minister with this calibre of thought about women and how they deserve to be treated is a huge liability and burden not only for them but for all of us as Malaysians.

“Domestic violence is a pressing issue and must be addressed urgently,” SIS said.

Meanwhile, SIS’ Telenisa line which provides free legal consultation on Islamic Family Law and Syariah Criminal Offences law reported in 2020 that domestic violence is the most stated reason for divorce at 23%.

The group said domestic violence has consistently been one of the main reasons, and the most recorded reason for seeking divorce since 2019.

SIS said their clients who experienced domestic violence in 2020 had reported that they went through various types of violence or abuse during the pandemic.

It said reports of physical violence are tallied at 37%, psychological abuse at 31%, social abuse at 11%, financial abuse at 16%, and sexual violence at 5%.  – February 14, 2022.