After public TONGUE LASHING, Selangor mufti denies saying it was 'OK to cane wives’

The mufti of Selangor Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid has denied that he had said Muslim wives can be caned by their husbands to instil discipline in them.

Tamyes said that he never used the word 'rotan' (cane) and he claimed the reporter only came to him to ask him his comments on the caning of children.

The mufti said this when refuting several online media reports which attributed the 'wives can be caned' statement to him in their articles.

"The reporter concerned then went on to ask me about caning of wives.

"I told him that if a wife is disobedient with the husband and she refuses to listen to reason, then after many processes such as giving her the cold shoulder and probably not sharing the same bed, the husband can sebat dengan saputangan (hit with a handkerchief).

"But not on the face or on parts of the body which may hurt and not with the intention to hurt or to shame, but to educate.

"However, if a woman is of the very sensitive type and is likely to be worse off by such action, then that way must not be used," said Tamyes.

"I never told the reporter that one must cane his wife to instil discipline," said Tamyes, asking that he be cleared of uttering such a statement.

Mufti's statement 'extreme'

Mufti Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid

Representatives of women NGOs responded strongly to Tamyes' alleged statement that wives can be caned by their husbands.

The Women’s Aid Organisation’s (WAO) Facebook page, meanwhile, garnered hundreds of comments on the issue and more than a thousand shares with many ridiculing the mufti’s supposed statement. Some, however, supported him saying his statement was taken out of context.

WAO advocacy officer Yu Ren Chung believes that people had reacted strongly as the statement attributed to the mufti was 'extreme'.

“We don’t think it is befitting for someone of his position to say such a thing. We call on him to be held accountable over what he said,” Yu told Malaysiakini adding there was simply no justification for a husband to beat his wife in any way.

“In reality, what he (Tamyes) is doing is he is justifying domestic violence. And it’s even worse when the Penal Code and the Domestic Violence Act clearly state that it is illegal for a husband to beat his wife.”

Yu also said it was patriarchal to assume that a husband would know what was best for his wife and that his actions are or are not causing harm and embarrassment.

“What we need to do is to go back to what the country’s laws say. This is our advice to all segments of the society regardless of religion.”

'Very medieval concept'

Sisters in Islam (SIS) executive director Ratna Osman said Tamyes should have instead said something positive such as that marriage in Islam was about mawaddah wa rahmah (compassion and tenderness).

“It is a very irresponsible statement (that husbands can cane wives),” Ratna told Malaysiakini.

“The Quran talks about the idea of marriage which is full of compassion and tenderness.

"But how can there be mawaddah wa rahmah if there is always a possibility that the husband will cane the wife if she disobeys him?

“There is no way that Islam condones the beating of the wife in any form,” she said.

Ratna said a Muslim husband should instead complain to the religious council should his wife did not return home, for example. If the husband goes to the religious council, at least they can advise him, she said.

"The whole patriarchy understanding is a very medieval concept of marriage, which, in today’s society won’t work. If he (Tamyes) wants some medieval kind of relationship, then he should go back to medieval times,” she said. -M'kini