Women are not the problem. Men are!
Even in Mecca, men and women mix freely during the haj rituals, like walking together seven times around the Kaabah and climbing to the top of Mount Arafat, but not in Terengganu.
Are Terengganu women so powerful that they have a debilitating hold on their menfolk?
Perhaps, it is the men of Terengganu who are so weak that they cannot resist any woman. Not all men but mostly the conservative politicians.
Terengganu appears to be suffering from a case of toxic masculinity, where manmade rules are enforced by men in authority, to favour the dominant male and to put women in their place.
Segregating members of the public and banning women performers is just another version of “Ketuanan Lelaki” in the corridors of power of the state government.
Shallow-minded policies
Two images of Terengganu were shown to us last week.
In the first, we are told that the state government would introduce gender segregation in the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium to reduce intermingling between male and female spectators.
The second came a week later, when a ban on women performers at a temple event was announced because the performance was held in a space which was open to the public.
We are constantly being dictated by people who wish to nanny us, even to the extent of telling us where we should sit in the stadium or what performances we may or may not watch.
In the temple ban, Terengganu executive council members were fearful of the women performers strutting their stuff in front of a male Muslim audience because the venue was made public.
This inexcusable excuse exposes the shallowness of the council members.
Apart from stifling creativity and imagination, the ban is to stop the temple attendees from being entertained.
Making it troublesome for both Muslims and non-Muslims will also discourage interaction between the two groups. The council is unwilling to let us learn about another person’s culture, in the interests of better community relations.
Why does the Kuala Terengganu City Council fear Muslims watching the women perform? If the Muslim’s faith is strong, nothing, not even a woman on stage should shake his aqidah.
The council could, if they wanted to, ban Muslim males from watching if it is too provoking. There is no need to deprive Muslim women from watching non-Muslim women performers, is there?
This exercise is about control. It is just another means for conservative politicians to control and manipulate the public, both Muslim and non-Muslim. They are prepared to use women as the tool to do their dirty work.
Non-Muslims also affected
Conservative politicians often remind us that Islamic laws are only for the Muslims. So why are they encroaching on the temple’s activities?
These conservative politicians stretch the truth. If Islamic laws do not affect non-Muslims, why were the lives of non-Muslim single mothers turned upside down?
Their convert ex-husbands kidnapped their children and converted them to Islam without the permission of the mothers who were granted custody of the children. These mothers are still denied justice.
Malaysians are aware that once this dangerous precedent of banning women performers is started, what comes next? A ban on the entire performance because it does not conform to some other manmade, off-the-cuff council ruling?
The PAS-led state government introduced gender segregation for cinema-goers in 2020.
Next year, the Terengganu state exco in charge of tourism, Razali Idris, said that the La Hot Spring natural hot water pools near Jertih would also introduce segregation. He said this would ensure the comfort of visitors and prevent mingling between males and females.
Do the women in the PAS government agree? Or are they beholden to their male peers in the state assembly?
Women make up 50 percent of the population. Do they agree? If they disagree, have they contacted their MP or assemblyperson to make their views known?
Segregation helps no one
Segregation harms women and society in general because it reinforces patriarchal behaviour and male dominance. The sexist approach to daily life will also encourage violent and abusive treatment of women.
Segregation is not helpful for men. Many boys who are used to segregation do not know how to behave in the presence of girls. Many fail to learn to respect women and have a narrow view of forming relationships with women.
Segregation harms both the mental and physical health of boys, many of whom grow up thinking that they may dominate women and believe that they are sexually entitled.
From the time they are children, they see women being controlled by their menfolk. Their parents do it, as do other members of their families, the wider community and their peers.
They know of no other way, but just because it is widely practised, it does not mean it is right.
We can depend on the few voices like that of the Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, and DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng, who are willing to stick their necks out and defend this particular right of non-Muslims.
So what happened to the voices of the other MPs from the Madani administration/Unity government, to uphold Article 11 of the Federal Constitution?
They’re not interested in defending the rights of women or the non-Muslims. It’s all about self-preservation and protecting their political futures.
Speaking out for the non-Muslims will cost them votes. - 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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