2007 05: Two Penang reps make an issue of women’s dressing

The Star online. News. Nation. Wednesday May 23, 2007

PENANG: After the recent “bocor” (leak) controversy in the Dewan Rakyat, one would have thought that backbenchers would know enough to stay clear of sexist remarks.

Not in the Penang state assembly.

Permatang Berangan assemblyman Shabudin Yahaya and Sungai Dua assemblyman Datuk Jasmin Mohamed blamed women's provocative dressing for sexual crimes, raising the hackles of Tan Cheng Liang (BN – Jawi).

“The women’s dressing menggoda (lures) and mencabar (challenges) men,” said Shabudin, who interjected during Tan’s speech when debating the motion of thanks on the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abas’s opening address.

This prompted Tan to tick him off for his narrow thinking.

“Even women who are covered from the head to the toe and two-year-old children have become rape victims. This shows that it has nothing to do with women’s dressing,” she said.

Shabudin, who is state Islamic Religious Council president, then asked Tan for her views on a dress code for women and Jasmin rose to support it.

Tan said she disagreed with a dress code, as women knew what to wear.

Shabudin then interjected that men were sure to look when sexily attired women pass in front of them.

“This is because there is a daya tarikan (attraction),” he said.

Jasmin said that women who dressed provocatively also forgot their family responsibilities.

Tan said the issue was not about the women’s dressing but the mindset of men.

In his speech, Mansor Musa (BN – Batu Maung) rapped the two assemblymen for their sexist remarks, saying they were not showing a good example in the House.

Tan also alleged that a Seberang Prai Municipal Council official had been signing the overtime claims of his workers when they did not do any extra work.

Phee Boon Poh (DAP – Sungai Puyu) asked Tan to substantiate her allegations.

However, Speaker Datuk Yahaya Abdul Hami disallowed the question, saying the reply should come from the concerned state executive councillor.

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Penang State Assembly: Lawmakers ‘dress up’ a hot issue
NST online. Local News. 23/05/07

By : Sharanjit Singh

SEVERAL backbenchers got into a debate in the house yesterday over whether or not local women are getting more daring in their dressing.

Shahabudin Yahaya (BN- Permatang Berangan) got the ball rolling when he interrupted fellow backbencher Tan Cheng Liang (BN-Jawi) as she was speaking about the need for politicians to show respect to women.

She was saying they should not make sexist remarks when Shahabudin asked if there was a need to introduce a dress code for women.

"I am asking because women are getting more daring in their dressing and it is challenging for men, even me." Tan said: "I am shocked by this kind of narrow-minded thinking. "We’ve had cases of tudung-clad women and even two-year-olds being raped."

Are you trying to say that they were raped because of the way they dressed?" Sensing that the issue could get out of hand, Jasmin Mohamad (BN-Sungai Dua) said Shahabudin was just asking if the way a woman dressed could lead to bad things happening.

Tan said she did not agree, and cited that one could see many scantily-clad women on European beaches but this did not cause any problems there."

God has given us a mind so we can think and control ourselves. "If you don’t have dirty thoughts, then you won’t think negatively," she said.

Later, state Women and Community Development Committee chairman Datuk Jahara Hamid said there were regulations on how one should dress when visiting government departments.

She said action could be taken against those who dressed scantily in public.

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No justifying rape
The Star online. News. Opinion. Friday May 25, 2007

RAPE is a crime and that’s that. There is no justifying who is right and wrong.

Does it mean that men have the right to rape women who dress sexily? Criminals nowadays do not only target sexy women but also old women and schoolchildren.

Since a dress code is suggested to avoid luring male sexual instinct, why not suggest that males wear chastity belts to prevent rape?

ANGRY WOMAN,
Sg. Buloh, Selangor.

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Quit focusing on who’s to blame
The Star online. News. Opinion. Friday May 25, 2007

I REFER to the report “Another sexist remark: Two Penang reps make an issue of women’s dressing” (The Star, May 23).

Though the previous comments made in Parliament were what I consider unfortunate, and a display of gender insensitivity, the current issue is slightly different.

Nevertheless, the remark and the subsequent protest just extend the debate over who’s to blame for sexual crimes.

The typical egocentric-male-chauvinist group argues that rapists are tempted by women’s provocative dressing style.

At the other extreme, your typical woman-rights-activists corner rebuts such claims by pointing out that rape victims are not exclusive to the scantily dressed, and blames men’s mentality and perspective towards the opposite gender.

I have no intention of taking sides in such a debate. I am more concerned about addressing the issue, identifying root causes, improving our social fabric and increasing access to education, instead of focusing on the blame game.

Despite taking a three-credit-hour Intro to Psychology during my university days, and being a father to three beautiful daughters, I am not an authority on this issue. Anyhow, this is my two sen worth on the matter as a concerned father and a citizen of Malaysia.

·Gender debate and the blaming game will not solve the issue, it will simply keep us occupied on the debate instead of combating sex crimes.

·Sex crimes are seldom about gender or sex. It’s about the socially challenged and sick characters seeking ways to feel superior and to feel validated as an autonomic individual.

·Rape and other sexual violations committed on the weak, and children, are motivated mostly by the freak instinct to overpower others through physical and psychological violence, not to seek sexual gratification.

·Overly lewd, indecent, or impolite dressing choices at inappropriate times and places may trigger a psychologically impaired person. It may not be the root cost, but it can trigger a person who already has issues, to act on an unhealthy impulse.

It may not be immediately acted upon, but the aggressor would probably then act on the impulse at the soonest opportunity available. A sick-minded serial rapist or paedophile may be triggered by something he saw in a crowded shopping mall, but act days later at a deserted car park or neighbourhood.

One example is a smoker who is trying to quit by going cold turkey. You can tell everyone not to smoke in front of him, but the mere mention of smoking, or any visual or audio material that reminds him of smoking will trigger that instinct to light up, if not immediately, when no one is looking.

But the trigger is not the cause of this action; it’s the addiction and the nicotine.

·“Improper dressing” is a subjective issue that can be debated forever without resolutions.

·Dress code is at best the less significant of factors in this matter (if not the least), as there are always triggers available in many forms to provide excuses for some people to act upon unnatural motivations, from the real to the imagined. We can force everyone to wear a jilbab but a serial rapist would always be able to fantasise.

·A good place to start with in combating sex crimes is by looking at family institutions, social composites and disparities, education (structured academic and social skills), and psychological health of the general population. Safety and security concerns should not be taken lightly.

·What is certain is that instead of focusing on who is to be blamed – sexy women or unfulfilled low self-esteem men – we should stress more on mutual respect between genders and within our family institutions.

A man who loves his mother, sisters, daughters and wife, and is able to apply the golden rule of do unto others as you would others do unto you is less likely to consider hurting another person.

NASRUL,
Seremban. Negri Sembilan.

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Women's Dressing: Drastic change of mindset needed
NST online. Letters. 28/05/07

By : PREMA E. DEVARAJ, Women’s Centre for Change, Penang

TWO Penang state assemblymen, Shabudin Yahaya (BN-Permatang Berangan) and Datuk Jasmin Mohamed (BN-Sungai Dua), reportedly blamed women’s provocative dressing for sexual crimes. Apparently women who dress provocatively menggoda (lure) and mencabar (challenge) men.

The Women’s Centre for Change, Penang (WCC) is dismayed that the stereotype of a woman as a seductress inciting, by her provocative dressing, the poor innocent male to commit a heinous sexual crime is so deeply entrenched in the minds of some state assemblymen. The quality of reasoning exhibited by these two elected representatives leaves much to be desired. Men and boys are also victims of sexual crimes. Does this mean that male victims of sexual crimes are to be blamed for wearing provocative trousers? A person’s remarks and behaviour reflect his thinking. If a person chooses to think of a woman as a sexual object, then he will refer to her and treat her as one. Unless and until he chooses to think differently, he will continue to disrespect women in his thoughts, words and actions.

Similarly, the motivation for a sexual crime is rooted in the mind of the perpetrator.

Hence, the blame for the sexual crime is, and should be, with the perpetrator and not the victim. But as long as society continues to blame victims, the perpetrators of sexual crimes will get away with the crime and the victims will not be able to get the help and support they truly need.

It is a fallacy that "provocative" dressing leads to sexual crimes. And yet this fallacy persists, not just in the minds of some men, but also in the minds of some women.

There are many examples of modestly-clad women who have been raped or sexually assaulted. The cold, hard reality is that a woman can be a victim of a sexual assault at any time and at any place, irrespective of her age, dressing, social or cultural background. The sexist remarks are a sad reflection of the mindset among some of our elected representatives. This is unacceptable and must change. We cannot have elected leaders who perpetuate myths and stereotypes which have serious consequences for women and victims of sexual crimes in this country.