Syarie lawyers: Wives are not mere sex objects

A Syarie lawyer group said that the objectives of the Obedient Wife Club is sorely misguided.
Muslim women have been discouraged from joining The Obedient Wife Club, for it disparages the dignity of women.

Syarie Lawyers Association (PGSM) today lambasted the club formed last Saturday for equating women to sex workers and for encouraging women to fulfil their husbands' needs by being "good prostitutes".

The club, which is open to all women regardless of race, was initiated to "hinder" cases of adultery and domestic abuse.

"A wife is not a sex worker for her husband. The duty of a wife is to take care of her husband. It is regarded as an act of worship and for which she will be rewarded by God," PGSM deputy president Musa Awang said.

Although it is the duty of a husband to provide his wife with shelter, food, clothing and money, this is not in return for sexual gratification, he said.

"But it is responsibility accorded in trust and as prescribed in religion and also a reward from God," said Musa.

He lashed out at Obedient Wife Club's vice-president Dr Rohaya Mohamad (left) for statements that he said were not of an educated woman, although her intention was to ensure husbands were loyal to their wives.

"Her statements were rude and pompous for equating a wife to a prostitute... it is not a norm for Malay Muslim men to engage with prostitutes, only some do it... (but) her statement portrayed all men as doing the same thing," said Musa.

Unfair to blame wives

He urged women to not join the club, which had lost it sense of direction and that it would not reduce the rate of divorce nor stop problems of children born out of wedlock.

"The club should focus on cohesive efforts to develop husbands, fathers and sons as exemplary Muslims," Musa added.

In a related development, the Sarawak government spokesperson today rejected the view of the club that husbands stray mainly because their spouses have failed to keep them sexually satisfied.

According to Bernama, state assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office Daud Abdul Rahman (in charge of religious affairs) said that a marriage could suffer for many reasons.

"Blaming the performance of wives in the bedroom is totally unfair," he told reporters after chairing a meeting on the national Quran recital competition to be held here from June 13 to 17.

"No need for OWC to be here because (here we believe that) marriage is a collective responsibility and not up to certain individuals," Daud added.

Daud was commenting on a statement by OWC international vice-president Rohaya Mohamed on Saturday that a wife must obey and serve her husband like “a first-class prostitute".