Malaysia Canes Women For Extramarital Sex

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Authorities in Malaysia caned three Muslim women for having extramarital sex, making them the first women in the country to receive such punishment under Islamic law, an official said Wednesday.

The caning of women has fueled debate about whether Islamic conservatism was intruding into people's personal lives in this moderate Muslim-majority country. Another woman, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, was sentenced to caning last year for drinking beer.

Kartika's sentence has not been carried out, but authorities at a women's prison near Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 9 caned three other Muslim women who had been convicted in an Islamic Shariah court for having sex outside of marriage, according to a Home Ministry official. They did not explain why the punishment was only announced Wednesday.

Each woman received between four and six strokes of a rattan cane, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced the caning earlier Wednesday. He did not release details of their identities or when they had been sentenced but said that one of the women was released last week after spending a month in prison.

Home Ministry officials did not describe where on their bodies they received the strikes, but authorities have previously said that the caning of women would be done with a thin stick on the back – not the buttocks.

The punishment for women is supposed to be largely symbolic rather than aimed at causing pain, unlike the caning of rapists and drug smugglers with a thick rattan stick on bare buttocks that causes the skin to break and leave scars.

Officials at the women's prison who could comment on the caning were not immediately available.

It was not clear whether the men who had sex with the women were also caned, but the caning of male convicts occurs regularly for a wide range of crimes.

Kartika, the woman convicted of drinking beer, has insisted she wants to get the punishment over with, but government authorities said they needed to train personnel to properly carry out the penalty first.

Kartika's case also sparked concerns about whether conservative Islamists, who advocate harsh punishments, are gaining influence over Malaysia's justice system.

Malaysia follows a dual-track justice system. Shariah laws apply to Muslims, who account for nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, in all personal matters. Non-Muslims – Chinese, Indians, Sikhs and other minorities – are covered by civil laws and are not subject to Islamic courts.

Comments

[SadButWiser]

07:53 AM on 02/19/2010

Do not forget, 4 men were also canned for the same offense. But no one interested in that part of the story.

[infidel2]

04:13 AM on 02/20/2010

I mentioned it further down, you must have missed it and as you said no one else seemed to care.

"In this case they say the men have also been caned, it's the first time I've ever heard of equal punishments for both genders for the same crime under shariah. "

[Ergon]

09:26 AM on 02/20/2010

You mean your knowledge extends only as far as what the Media choses to reports on?

[Ergon]

04:48 PM on 02/18/2010

Lots of hypocrisy on display here. I don't agree with Islamic Law but they have a right to protect their own culture in their own country, as long as it doesn't apply to non-muslims. Still, I wonder at the emphasis on Islam in this blog, as if to soften us up for the new Hundred Years War. Still, here's the original source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/18/nation/5697699&sec=nation
"Hishammuddin said all three women did not suffer any cuts or bruises following the caning but had confessed that the punishment had left a deep impact on them. “They have all repented. They are also hoping that others will not go against the teachings of the religion,” he said, adding that the sentence was meted out according to Islamic rules" (Which emphasises light caning for women)
Having been caned quite a few times (at English Boarding Shool) for various infractions I can say folk here are just a tad er, sensitive.
Comment on how many women were blown to bits in Afghanistan by your er, liberators first.

[Paula Ann]

07:10 PM on 02/18/2010

spot on

[Ergon]

01:03 AM on 02/19/2010

When even the WSJ can get it right: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704398804575071173912460414.html
"officials caned four Muslim men and, for the first time, three Muslim women this month after being found guilty of having sex out of wedlock"
"Mr. Hishammuddin said that a doctor was present at the canings, which took place in male and female prisons, and that the offenders weren't tied. The women were seated while they were struck, and no injuries were reported. The idea, the officials previously have said, is to humiliate rather than injure—unlike the canings administered to drug pushers and other violators of civil laws, which can sometimes leave deep scars"
Sigh.

[FreedomOnionSoup]

08:47 PM on 02/18/2010

In these countries religion is not a choice. If your father was a muslim, you are a muslim and conversion is impossible.

[JazzHands]

11:59 PM on 02/18/2010

In Malaysia, if you are Malay (a race) you are automatically by law a Muslim for your entire life.

[infidel2]

06:20 AM on 02/19/2010

Correct. And like it or not islamic law or the sharia rules practically every aspect of their lives....NO CHOICE

[HappyMarsden]

02:03 PM on 02/18/2010

Wow, if they're caning women for extra marital sex, they must REALLY be hurting the guys involved in the affair.

[Tennys Daughter]

01:01 PM on 02/18/2010

America is one of, if not the most promiscuous country in the world. Perhaps we should allow men/women alike to be caned here. Maybe just maybe unwed pregnancies would cease, STD’s would decrease tremendously. Adultery and/or fornication would practically be unheard; of course you will have a few hound dogs that will try it anyway. However, if the caning is severe enough it would discourage others from indulging in the act.

[GoOnGoogle]

01:30 PM on 02/18/2010

Why don't you also propose to rid us of free speech and the right to marry who we want?

[infidel2]

06:31 AM on 02/19/2010

There is already a movement afoot to curb free speech, "political correctness" is part of it. Protests that silence speakers at universities is another. Lawfare or litigation jihad, suing people for speaking the truth is another (it's worked well on publishers & the MSM). Threats & intimidation is another route. Freedom of speech is definitely already at risk, just look around.

[HappyMarsden]

02:06 PM on 02/18/2010

Right on, my Xtian brother. The US should also cane teenage girls for having abortions, and for kissing boys before marriage.

[blogisti]

12:47 PM on 02/18/2010

Men are assumed to be a lower life form that cannot control their animal urges. That is why women have to cover themselves so as not to lead the men into temptation. As a low life, men cannot be responsible for their sexual transgressions. This places the men in a perpetual child like pre-reasoning stage. Men therefore, can never really reach manhood under this type of system.

[Usama]

11:54 AM on 02/18/2010

Unfortunately, many HPsters do not understand human nature and the consequences of mismanaging it. Allowing for individual free choice to manage social relations leads to the breakdown of social relations and the byproduct of that is broken homes, high crime, immorality.

There is God and there is life after this life.
How one believes and manages one's life now contributes to how God judges one and how He will determine one's next life. And Islam is God's final revelation to mankind. Islam teaches Man how to purify himself. And the individual cannot determine his affairs alone, society must support the indivdiual to seek purity and goodness, not simply stand on the side allowing for chaos and the breakdown of humanity. And punishment in this life, such as for illegal sex outside of marriage, is expiation for punishment in the next life. A believing Muslim prefers punishment, even stoning, rather than face God with such a sin which He hates. And the criminalization of sex outside of marriage protects marriage and women.

[HappyMarsden]

02:07 PM on 02/18/2010

Wha?? Uh... how does it protect women exactly, by only beating women with a cane for this "crime"?

[chopinois]

03:36 PM on 02/18/2010

Your religion is anti-human. Life is beautiful and dynamic, but the contemplation and enactment of beauty does not line the pockets of the powerful, and dynamism threatens their hold on power. Thus we have religions with strict, unnatural codes of morality and threats of dire consequences (that can never be demonstrated, mind you) of eternal suffering after death.

I choose life. I will be happy. I will not allow you and people like you to ruin my one and only lifetime on this earth so you can make yourself feel better by forcing me to be miserable like you. That is your choice. I have made mine.

[stargazer13]

10:14 AM on 02/18/2010

I would have never of made it ! if I had been born in to this religion !

as a women any way !! I am sure I would have been a victim of some honor K illing !

[shahada2009]

07:33 AM on 02/18/2010

I don't trust the Western media account of this case! For one, how did this girls get caught? How can they be implicated and not the men who engaged with them? This is shari'ah law! Who were the four witnesses in this case? There is missing details of this case that is troubling to say the lease! And lastly, if the girls came forward on their own and admitted to the fornication but they did not give up the men in the case, this could explain the absence of charges against the men! Also, it must be added, since there is missing information in the case, if the women engaged in a homosexual act, this also could serve why the men were not charged!

[JazzHands]

12:02 AM on 02/19/2010

How did they get caught? Well, in Malaysia religious leaders go on patrol on secluded beaches, shady hotels, etc to try to catch unwed muslims copulating. I've seen this happen before. When the couples are caught, if both are unmarried, they are given the option of marrying each other or caning.

The men? The story here is that these are the first women to be caned in Malaysia. The men are a non-story because hundreds if not thousands of men are caned daily in Malaysia.

[LMPE]

10:47 PM on 02/17/2010

Rick Warren, here's your ideal country! (minus the Muslim stuff of course)

[JStading]

10:43 AM on 02/18/2010

Adultery is against the law in tons of states. In Arizona (§13-1408), it's a class 3 misdemeanor. That means the punishment can be 30 days in jail, a revocation of probation (which brings another automatic 60 days), and a good sized fine.

Frankly, I'd rather get hit with a cane 4 times than spend a month in jail. Religion and "morality" should never be enforced by the law, barbarism is too often the result. But let's not pretend that we don't have a number of similarly absurd laws on the books.

[infidel2]

08:43 PM on 02/17/2010

Oh, the joys of Sharia!. Look what we're missing in North America....I'm guessing the males involved in the extra-marital affairs got good stiff pats on the back?

[Kap Hop]

01:59 AM on 02/18/2010

...exactly.

[shahada2009]

07:39 AM on 02/18/2010

This case sounds like the women engaged in some act with other! And surely, men are sentenced and caned regularly for fornication! And you don't know if men were involved or not! I would like to find the case in Malaysian news and see if we can get more details!

[chopinois]

08:08 AM on 02/18/2010

I appreciate your defense of the situation, and I'm sure that there are specifics about this practice that Westerners, Christians, atheists, etc., do not understand precisely.

But at the heart of it all, human beings are being beaten by their government for daring to exercise control over their own body. The government is doing this barbaric act at the behest of a book written by a prophet who heard the words from an angel, the same angel that Christians believe told Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus, the herald of a god who was not even the only god in the early Jewish faith until the Israelites were captured and removed from their homes and suddenly the god of fire, power, and war, Jehovah, seemed to demand exclusive attention.

The two main purposes of organized religion (as a means of control, and as a means to achieve personal, if deluded, happiness) do not always work in tandem. This is an obvious example of where the use of religion for control over people's lives is leading directly to personal suffering. It is time to wake up and shake off the shackles of this societal disease we call religion.

[infidel2]

10:36 PM on 02/18/2010

I see your handlers have you following me around . I'm still waiting for a reply to my post about family honor which until now has been ignored or missed.

In this case they say the men have also been caned, it's the first time I've ever heard of equal punishments for both genders for the same crime under shariah.

I have absolutely no tolerance for religious laws that supersede (or followers believe supersede) the laws of the land. If it's that important to have every aspect of one's life governed by a theocratic law then perhaps followers should choose to live in countries where theocracies rule in lieu of democracy.

Sharia ultimately degrades society and diminishes freedom.

"The National Association of Women and the Law, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, and the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada argued that under Shariah law, men and women are not treated equally.

They argued that women fare far worse in divorce, child custody and inheritance matters under Shariah law. For instance, a woman can only inherit half as much as a man can. If a divorced woman remarries, custody of the children from her previous marriage may revert to the children's father. "

"The Sharia should be opposed for its imposition of theocracy over democracy, its abuse of human rights, its institutionalized discrimination, its denial of human dignity and individual autonomy, its punishment of alternative lifestyle choices, and for the severity of its punishments"

[Talossa]

06:00 PM on 02/17/2010

On the plus side, Islamic law only applies to Muslims. On the minus side, it's punishable by death to convert from Islam to another religion.

[shahada2009]

02:28 AM on 02/19/2010

true, but not in these modern times! There is a hadith about a man who apostate and die and what happened to his grave, this was in the 7th century! In modern times, you can move away from Islam at your choosing! There are some countries where the people don't have any place to flee because of financial status and their apostate is very difficult for their villages to take! Generally, you look at the statistics there are more to coming to Islam than apostate from Islam! This is why Islam is the fastest growing religion on earth today!

[infidel2]

01:25 AM on 02/21/2010

So, you said you prefer to live under "the shariah" and I said "If you prefer to live under sharia you must be a male"...Are you or not? It makes a lot of difference.

[norepublicanleftbehind]

05:01 PM on 02/17/2010

And the men?

[Hnorc]

04:59 PM on 02/17/2010

I predict that one day, many muslims will open their eyes to this stupidity and start rejecting conservative Islam. Too bad many Christians in the US will not do the same.

[shahada2009]

02:26 AM on 02/21/2010

what is conservative Islam? Their is only one seerah of the prphet sws! There is only one aqeeda! the hadiths are recorded in chains, there are no others that are being quoted, so what is the western definition of conservative Islam? The labels placed by the West on Muslims are not quite understood in the Muslim world! All Muslims are require to pray at least five times a day! There many a few schools of thoughts, hanafi and so on! I would like for you to explain conservative Islam to me if you can?

[norepublicanleftbehind]

04:58 PM on 02/17/2010

Barbaric

[Naville]

02:05 AM on 02/19/2010

"Barbaric" According to your ideals. do not judge others based on your culture.

they could point out some barbaric norms that is common in your area.

[madgrrl]

04:42 PM on 02/17/2010

Did they have sex all by themselves? Why aren't the men being caned as well?
If they sell beer - can only the men drink it? I thought under Islamic law no one should be drinking.

[ron071]

05:18 PM on 02/17/2010

The women in these Islamic countries who put up with this Sharia abuse and do not take collective action to end it deserve what they get. Who will help those who refuse to help themselves.

[shahada2009]

02:38 AM on 02/21/2010

What is shar'ah abuse? for instance, a woman's husband does not provide for her and the children, and he keeps his money to himself so to speak; she files under the shar'ah for abuse since under Islamic law, the man is required to provide for his family; he can be jailed for this! Also, a woman can file against her husband in shari'ah court for not praying five times a day! She can divorce him too for not praying! the rational for this because of an hadith that states that one of the differences between the Muslim and non Muslim is prayer, if you don't pray then you are no among us! In honesty, many women in the Muslim world have not be educated on her rights under the shari'ah, similar as in the US! Regrettably, some of these countries have been suppressive against women and some have been to afraid to file under the shari'ah! this is a sinful act and against the sunnah of the prophet osws and shari'ah law! Lastly, the worldly condition for women is horrible, let's face it! Women fair unequally everywhere, the US, Latin America, Africa, Asia , Europe and so on!

[madgrrl]

06:51 PM on 03/01/2010

In the United States we American women put up with all sorts of abuse - do we deserve it? Perhaps Islamic woman are afraid that if they speak up they will be collectively raped and murdered, and tortured in public as they were in Kenya for protesting.

[shahada2009]

02:40 AM on 02/21/2010

The Western media did not fully report the incident and men where punished for this crime under the shar'ah! Do your research outside western media circles, you will find out the whole story!