Will Malay women rise up against their men?

YOURSAY | ‘If you do not act, then there's nothing that others can do for you.’

What have they got against Muslim women?

Hang Tuah PJ: I am a Muslim woman and I live my life as I like it. I do not give a darn to the Muslim neighbourhood where I live.

My children dress as they like and I have two dogs as pets. In addition to Hari Raya, I celebrate Christmas with my aged mother who lives with me, and Deepavali with my disabled brother who also lives with me.

And of course, my children and I are practising Muslims and I have been to the Holy Land twice.

I have Muslim friends from other countries and they laugh at the practices of the Muslims here. I agree that Malay Muslims here follow more the Sunnah than the al-Quran.

My life - I live it as I deem it right as I will be answering to God when my time is up and not anyone else. To hell with every other politician who has politicised Islam here.

Anonymous 2447961480069542: Why do Muslim women, who are supposed to have equal rights under the constitution, allow their men to dictate what they should and should not do?

If you do not act, then there's nothing that others can do for you. Non-Muslims will get slammed by the extremists if they support the Muslim women and voice their displeasure.

Anonymous #13114320: Writer Mariam Mokhtar, of all the good articles you have written, this would probably be the best.

The only problem is, many women with good education would have read your article, but not those civil servants who work and serve their husbands like robots.

There is a need for somebody to send them this article in Bahasa Malaysia. They need to know they should not blindly do what was told by their husbands or the religious bodies.

Alfanso: Mariam, there must be more of you to tilt the balance. And you are right to bring to awareness the problems you face as a Muslim women. The solution is to let more know about it.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Mariam, it happens because Muslim women here in Malaysia - to be exact, Malay women - allow it to happen to them.

No matter how educated a Malay woman is, she and her fellow sisters merely sit back and take all that is thrown at them by the religious laws that target them. Even Malay women in power don't seem to stand up to this bullying treatment.

When this happens, the men who come up with these laws feel that they have the women’s support.

So, it is the women themselves - they have to get up, make their voices heard and revolt. If they do that, the Malay men will definitely back down and start respecting them.

Nil: Is it the intention of Islam for women to be treated the way they are treated? The Malays (in Malaysia) have lost their own identities. They are no longer the Malays of pre-independence days.

They have lost their heritage and culture due to the influence of different versions of Islam from other countries. They seem to not able stand alone.

So, Mariam, what can be done about it? Malay women should rise up and say - enough is enough, or are they willing to submit to the whims and fancies of their men?

Light: Dear Mariam, Islam is a progressive religion in that it enlightens, and I'm really sorry that you feel otherwise perhaps inadvertently.

Prejudices inherent due to some unfortunate experiences in the past and present are much regretted. Muslims themselves most times are not the best of ambassadors of their faith and sadly, too, their own worst enemies when knowledge is absent.

The journey to the truth is fraught with challenges and sincerity of intent always lands one in a good place. As for the naysayers, it's nothing new, they have always been there since time immemorial.

Meow: Mariam, a good one. The fundamentalists were hibernating since the collapse of Ottoman Empire but two major events changed the situation. These were the Islamic revolution in Iran and the increase of petroleum price in the world market.

Too many wanted to be the champion of the religion. The Shiites and Sunnis compete to surpass one another in practicing more Islamically in order to go to heaven. At the end of the day, the civilians become the victims.

No-brainer: Dear Mariam, what you said here shows the true and real situation in Malaysia and most Muslim countries.

When all is said and done, the Muslim men are apparently hypocrites, unscrupulous and insincere. They are a disgrace and should be ashamed of themselves.

The Analyser: Mariam, your support for the extension of human rights to the Muslim women of Malaysia is highly commendable and applaudable.

But I'm afraid it’s not going to win an election. Muslim women will continue to be repressed until Malay men are no longer repressed into the sort of insecurity that demands they should dominate their women.

Women alone will not drive liberation. I would suggest that what is needed is a politically-led fight against all forms of discrimination and repression, from which women will benefit.

In fact, that is far more important in a Malaysian context than any of the silly agendas that the men of Malaysian politics pursue. Those men rely on repression to maintain their status so unless pressured, they will not change.

Pemerhati: Mariam and others in third world countries would not dare to say certain things which would be critical of their religion, which is partly responsible for the discriminatory practices against women (for example, the triple ‘talaq’).

This is because some fanatics are likely to say that they are mocking god’s law and are guilty of blasphemy and then harm them.

Mindspeaks: This is the problem of indoctrination from young, of any belief system. To go against something, even though it is the right thing to do, will be considered deviant.

To be afraid of being labelled as such or not to be accepted as part of the 'flock' are making most of them keep quiet. Why the trouble, they say.

Anonymous 2408551459232350: The irony is that so many Malay women were apparently present at Padang Merbok last month (Act 355 rally), so does it seem like they are unwilling victims?- Mkini