Don T Whip Single Women Get To The Root Of Their Problems

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As far as many Malaysians are concerned, federal civil law states that no woman shall be whipped, and yet under syariah law, several women have already been caned.
Committing khalwat (close proximity) and having lesbian sex are the usual crimes for which caning is the punishment. In 2018, two lesbians were publicly whipped presumably to “increase their humiliation”.
Malaysians are subject to two sets of laws, the Federal Constitution and syariah; and if federal law is supreme, why are women whipped at all?
In most, if not all cases of khalwat, the women are named and shamed, whilst the man is neither named in the news reports nor do we know if he is punished.
It is also not true that non-Muslim Malaysians are unaffected by syariah law.
When rape has been committed, the testimony of a non-Muslim witness is deemed invalid. In conversion cases involving non-Muslim children, the non-Muslim parent struggles to find justice because the case can only be tried in a syariah court.
Public caning
In mid-April, the Syariah High Court sentenced 37-year-old Nurfifi Amira Nawi to six strokes of the cane and fined her RM4,000 or eight months in jail. She had been alone with a 49-year-old man who is not her husband in a house in Kemaman on Jan 31.
In 2018, Nurfifi had been convicted of a similar offence and was fined. The punishments for repeat offenders are six strokes of the cane, a maximum fine of RM5,000 or three years in prison.
Responding to the Terengganu government’s proposal to consider public caning for syariah offences, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar advised state officials to exercise caution.
He urged a study to be conducted by various parties, before deciding if the caning should be made public, carried out in prison, or within the Syariah Court premises.
Incredibly, neither he nor any state or religious affairs official bothered to address the root of the women’s problem in khalwat.
The Syariah High Court judge who ordered Nurfifi to be caned appeared to be both insensitive and facetious.
When he meted out the punishment, he advised Nurfifi to “get married immediately to avoid committing a similar offence again”.
He added, “Don’t get married in Golok (Thailand). You said you wanted to marry, but no action was taken. There is no remorse.”
Like many single mothers throughout Malaysia, Nurfifi was divorced but probably failed to receive child maintenance or alimony payments.
These women would probably have sacrificed an education or employment to raise a family. When a man decides to remarry, his focus is often on his latest wife. The older first wife and children are neglected.
What about men?
Syariah laws compelling former husbands to provide alimony or maintenance after divorce are not strictly enforced.
Single mothers struggle to make ends meet. They lack education, skills, work experience, and savings.
After they marry, many may have relocated them to another part of the country. After their divorce, they have no family support and cannot afford childcare to enable them to seek employment.
The jobs available are low-paying ones with long hours. These vulnerable women are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers.
Lacking money to pay for rent and food will force many single mothers into prostitution.
Would Nurfifi be prostituting herself if she had received alimony and regular maintenance payments?
The senior judge who sentenced her made an inappropriate remark when he told Nurfifi to get married immediately.
As a judge, he would have presided over several cases of khalwat and divorce in the courts, where the common thread is of men being unfaithful.
Are adulterous men ever punished?
The judge failed to understand that marriage is sacred and one does not exchange marriage vows simply to be intimate.
Sadly, a high percentage of Malay men discard their wives when they tire of them and remarry.
Real issues
So, what was the punishment for the 40-year-old man involved in Nurfifi’s khalwat case? Nurfifi was named and shamed, but her co-conspirator was neither named nor was he knowingly punished.
The judge warned Nurfifi not to get married in Golok. This suggests that he is aware that marriages in Golok are often marriages of convenience.
Couples get married in Golok because the husband’s first wife denied him permission to marry again, but Golok syariah courts are prepared to marry the Malaysian couple for a small fee. On their return to Malaysia, the man simply pays a small fine.
The constant abuse of syariah marriage laws should have prompted judges like the one who sentenced Nurfifi to do more to protect Muslim women.
By caning and fining Nurfifi, the judge failed to address the real issues. She was desperate to earn money to support her family and fining her is not going to help as she has no money to start with.
Jailing her will force her child to be taken into care. Why add to Nurfifi’s burden and her, and her child’s mental health?
When will officials step in and address the issues faced by single Muslim women?
Women like Nurfifi do not appear to have easy access to zakat funds to help them when they are desperate, at least until they are financially independent and emotionally secure.
More importantly, why won’t Na’im and the syariah courts treat the source of Nurfifi’s problem, not just the symptom? - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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