• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

Celebrating Women’s Day

By The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality

August 24, 2009

THE Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) welcomes the National Women’s Day celebration on 25 Aug 2009, and Independence Day on 31 Aug 2009.

The celebrations this year is bittersweet. JAG was galvanised over the past few weeks in dealing with a seemingly intractable issue: violence against women. This is a form of discrimination that is a barrier to women’s ability to enjoy all their rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men.

In this instance, it was the state-sanctioned violence against Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno. Kartika pleaded guilty to a charge of drinking alcohol, an offence under the syariah law in Pahang. In an effort to deter other Muslims from drinking, the syariah court ordered the maximum sentences to be meted out: RM5,000 fine and six lashes of the whip. However, on 24 Aug 2009, Kartika’s sentence was stayed for reasons that are still not clear.

JAG does not support whipping for women or men, citizens or non-citizens. It violates a person’s human rights to be free from cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment or punishment, and it has not worked as deterrent.

JAG is especially concerned that it is not apparent that general principles of sentencing were applied in Kartika’s case: she was a first-time offender, she showed remorse and pleaded guilty, and there was no violence in the commission of the offence. Her sentences were completely disproportionate to the offence committed.

Kartika’s case also illustrates how Muslim women are discriminated, contrary to the guarantee, in Article 8(2) of the federal constitution, against discrimination on the grounds of religion and gender. Whipping of women is allowed under syariah criminal offences but is disallowed by civil law under Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

JAG has repeatedly lobbied the government to legislate against discrimination and to make the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), which it ratified in 1995, into domestic law. However, the government has failed women on both counts.

JAG urges the government to “kotakan kata” to fulfill its elections promises and legal obligations under Cedaw. The government must legislate against discrimination. It must adhere to the guarantees given to each one of us, as Malaysian women in our federal constitution. Justice for Malaysian women requires nothing less.

Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower)
Women’s Aid Organisation
Sisters in Islam
All Women Action Society
Women’s Centre for Change, Penang
24 Aug 2009

The Nut Graph needs your support

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: Letters to the Editor

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph