MP says pulled sanitary pad ad did not undermine women's dignity

 

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto said she doesn’t see anything wrong with a feminine hygiene product advertisement that was recently pulled after an outcry by a religious organisation.

Weighing in on the matter, Kasthuri highlighted the government religious foundation Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia's (Yadim) claim that the advertisement was disrespecting and degrading women through the featuring of floral motifs inspired by both the Nyonya kebaya and vulva.

She pointed out many more issues are undermining women's dignity in Malaysia, and the advertisement was not one of them.

“I find it hard to understand the logic here. Honestly, all I see are beautiful flowers.

“The dignity of Malaysian women is undermined when rape jokes are made, when rape apologists blame victims, when women are sexually harassed, when a child is allowed to marry, and when there is a lack of support for victims of domestic violence,” she said in a Facebook post today.

Yesterday, Libresse Malaysia announced the withdrawal of some of its ads after Yadim Muslim Women’s Council issued a statement denouncing two Libresse advertising campaigns and an advertisement that featured vulva inspired motifs.

The advertisement was part of its V-Kebaya campaign which was reportedly aimed at breaking vagina-related taboos and encouraging women to feel confident about their bodies.

Libresse Malaysia eventually announced it had “withdrawn a particular advertisement” without stating specifically which, and explained its intentions behind the campaign on its Facebook. - Mkini