GEORGE TOWN: Penang exco member Chong Eng (pic) said she was neither questioning nor insulting Islam when she criticised the Selangor Islamic Department’s (Jais) Friday sermon that women must cover themselves up (tutup aurat) to prevent being raped.

The DAP lawmaker, who is facing a police investigation for her statement on Monday, said her comments were not intended to question the religion or its teachings.

“I was not trying to question the religion or its teaching. I merely wanted to highlight that rape is a premeditated crime.

“Women covering themselves does not prevent rape. Studies have shown that,” she said.

On Monday, Chong issued a statement criticising Jais over its sermon that declared women must “tutup aurat” to prevent rape.

She said the message by Jais gave “misleading information on rape, smacks of victim-blaming, and shows male bias in religious leadership”.

“Sadly, Jais’s sermon is misinformed, irresponsible, disrespectful and smacks of male bias. This ‘tutup aurat’ message does nothing to help female victims of sexual assault and abuse.

“It shifts the blame and responsibility in... sexual crimes onto victims instead of the perpetrators,” said Chong, who is Penang Women’s Development Corporation chairman.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar tweeted on Monday night that Chong will be investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code for uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.

She was speaking to The Malaysian Insider over the phone yesterday after she said she did not expect such a reaction to her statement.

“I was trying to make my point about rape being a crime that is premeditated by the culprits, not a mere reaction to how a woman dresses. In rape cases, the victims are vulnerable and cannot defend themselves.

“There had been so many cases of children falling victim to rapists and in these cases, the victims are not even fully developed,” she said in arguing that “tutup aurat” was not enough to prevent the crime.

On being investigated, Chong, a seasoned politician and a former MP, said she is ready to give her full cooperation to the police.

Jais had delivered a Friday sermon titled “Aurat: Antara Kebebasan dan Maruah Diri” (Aurat: Between Freedom and Dignity).

In the sermon, the department said Muslim women should cover their “aurat” to prevent being harassed and being objects of lust and sexual assaults. Covering up, it said, will prevent rape, illicit sex and incest.

Chong also said Jais’s emphasis on women’s “aurat” and victim-blaming showed that Malaysia’s religious leadership lacked gender sensitivity and understanding of women’s issues, and called for concrete efforts to increase women’s representation in all sectors, especially in religious leadership.

She said rape involved more complicated issues than the failure of women to “tutup aurat”. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 11, 2015.