Malasian women (Photograph: Aaron Joel Santos/Alamy)
A Former sharia judge Datuk Shabudin Yahaya sumade
suggested that rapists and their victims could solve social problems and “turn
a new leaf” by getting married.
He made the comments at the Houses of
Parliament during a debate over a bill on sexual offences against children.
“Perhaps through marriage they can lead a
healthier, better life. And the person who was raped does not necessarily have
a bleak future. She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a
remedy to growing social problems,” he was quoted in the local daily, the Star.
Sharmila Sekaran, chair of advocacy group
Voice of the Children
(VOC), which has been working with the government to draft the new law on child
protection, was in the parliamentary session when Yahaya made the comments on
Tuesday.
“I was outraged that he would make such a
statement. Basically to justify and legalise a wrong, a statutory rape,” she
told the Guardian.
“He’s a leader of society, as a member of
parliament, and it’s worrying that he has this line of thinking,” Sekaran
added.
“It does send a message across the country
that it is something that we are supposed to be OK with. That’s a very worrying
trend: ‘Go and rape someone and if you get caught offer to marry them.’”
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