Malaysia defends caning of Muslim women

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia on Friday defended its decision to cane three Muslim women for having sex outside of marriage, saying that the punishment served as a reminder to Muslims to adhere to the requirements of the religion. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the whipping of three women on February 9 was legal and, therefore, should not be questioned by any parties.

"The caning punishment meted out by the sharia court is legal and how the international community looks at it, is up to them," Muhyiddin was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

"But I believe it is important that authorities make an effort to explain the procedure because it is far different from the impression many have.

"While the caning sentence meted out by civil courts can cause hurt and sometimes even death, caning according to sharia law ... is more to educate and remind Muslims to honour and abide by their religion," he said.

This was the country's first-ever case involving the flogging of women.

Two of the women where whipped six times, while the third was given four strokes of the cane.

In a report Friday in the New Straits Times daily, the three women gave an account of their ordeal, saying that at least 10 people witnessed the caning including religious and government officials.

The women, aged between 17 and 25, said they were fully clothed, and were checked by a doctor before and after the whipping which was administered by a female prison warden with a thin rattan cane.

The caning has sparked outrage from rights groups, who say that the act violates constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination, as under the civil law, women are not caned.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system with Islamic criminal and family laws, which are applicable only to Muslims, alongside civil laws.

Critics have also said that the move to impose whipping for Muslim women would undermine government efforts to portray the country as moderate.

The case has also sparked concerns that conservative and hardline Islamists are gaining influence over the justice system of this country where more than half of its 28-million population are Muslims.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310135,malaysia-defends-caning-of-muslim-women.html.