Letter to the Editor
Chastising Irrational Suggestion for
Rape Prevention
23 February 2007

Also published in NST

I am not surprised if one day, another guy from religious authorities announced that it will do more good than harm if women don’t come out from their houses and get themselves locked lifelong to avoid any circumstances where they may be exposed to sexual violence.

The above is derived from my conclusion of how the small minds of certain officers from religious authorities work. When I read the recent comment by Datuk Abu Hassan Din Al-Hafiz on women using chastity belts as protection, it left me with a feeling of utter disgust on how he is trying to address the whole issue.

If all the authorities in power conform to his way of handling issues, then any person on the street may be forced to walk in an iron shield and bullet proof clothing or we may even have to consider banning cars and motorbikes on the roads to avoid road fatalities. But by doing so are we putting ourselves in a tenable position? Similarly, do women need to be constantly live in fear by wearing those chastity belts? Can men imagine themselves being put in that kind of situation?

This kind of suggestions, especially from public figures, are just dragging us back into uncivilized age where man does not use his intelligence to solve problems but merely rely on brute force to get things done.

If Abu Hassan equates the safety of women to that of property which must be locked and sealed, then it’s time for people like him to grow up, think and accept that women are NOT objects or belongings. Women have a right to live as normal civilians in society. They are tax payers and have voting rights. The public space in which Abu Hassan feels free to speak is one of the outcomes of a democratically elected government in which women play an equal part towards its formation.

I strongly urge the authorities to stop suggesting ideas which can belittle the intelligence of Malaysian community just for the sake of short term solutions. The real issue which the authorities have to think about is educating the public on the importance of respecting every individual regardless of gender and discarding the superior-inferior mind set in men and women. This type of education can begin at school level.

K.R PRAMILA
WAO Member