Report: Malay Muslim women abused online for challenging norms

sentra

PETALING JAYA: Online abuse is a frequent problem for Malay Muslim women who don’t conform to societal expectations, activists and victims of cyberbullying told the BBC.

Although women across the world often face abuse for their values or physical appearances, women’s rights activists such as Juana Jaafar say Malay Muslim women in particular “are targeted in a different way, especially when it comes to how they present themselves”.

The report gave the example of a 15-year-old girl who had aspired to be Malaysia’s first female prime minister but was brutally abused online for not wearing a hijab.

Juana told the BBC the attacks became so bad that the girl deleted her Twitter account and was forced to seek help.

Likewise, 25-year-old Maryam Lee received threats to her physical safety for days after she decided to stop wearing her hijab.

“It’s not just about people not liking your views, it’s about people bulldozing your entire existence, your self-esteem,” she was quoted as saying.

“When you give language to a [movement] that questions the status quo, they get much more insecure.”

Although the issue at hand may relate to religion or social norms, the abuse received by such victims is often targeted at seemingly irrelevant matters such as their physical appearance.

Twitter user Nalisa Alia Amin, for example, was condemned for her anti-patriarchal and pro-LGBT views. However, those who criticised her focused on her body, spreading screenshots zooming in on her thighs or photos of her next to pictures of animals.

“People who couldn’t stand my views have attacked my appearances, especially my body since I’m on the chubby side,” she said in the report.

Arlina Arshad meanwhile was panned so much for her weight that she became suicidal. Even then, she was accused of seeking attention, with some social media users saying “kalau tikam pun tak lepas lemak” (even if she was stabbed, it wouldn’t go past the fat).

DAP’s Dyana Sofya, who has received her share of criticism for her clothes and appearance, called the female body “a constant battleground for men to argue about”.

“A woman may be covered from head to toe, but someone will still complain that the covering is not baggy enough or long enough,” she was quoted as saying.

Alicia Izharuddin, a senior gender studies lecturer at Universiti Malaya, said although such things happened across the globe, in Malaysia they came with “an extra layer” of “moral justification that is rooted in quite narrow interpretations of religion”.

Juana agreed, telling the BBC: “Certainly if you have a Malay name, you become immediately visible.”

trakea

Hijab = christian= kafir= judaism = murtad

sentra

Hijab ialah murtad ye, betine nak jadi pm pon tak boleh

kecimpret

tahniah lobai2..harum nama msia diarena antarabangsa dek kerana pangai jumud korang

finesse

Bagus adik ni.. abg hrp adik jd perdana menteri yg hebat nnt yach!!!
Laki ke wanita aku x layan. Asal bagus sudah. Org Bodo je bising bab jantina ni.

munahjolie

Munah ada baca maryam ler punya tweets. Orang Malaysia bukannya solely bash dia sebab tak pakai tudung. Tapi sebab maryam ler ni acah liberal tapi otak kosong. Orang liberal pun ikut sekali bash maryam ler sebab dia tak represent those yg liberal.  Dia cam budak gemuk yg nak nampak cool cuba jadi liberal gituhh. Haha

ifanonline

mesti andartu ni

~boolean

munahjolie replied at 22-8-2017 01:05 PM
Munah ada baca maryam ler punya tweets. Orang Malaysia bukannya solely bash dia sebab tak pakai tudu ...

kebanyakan acah-acah liberal (termasuklah golongan acah2 'aktivis' dan feminist) kadang2 tak faham pun apa yang mereka perjuangkan.tanya pada mereka (terutamanya feminist), banyak masih tak tahu bezakan equality dan equity, tapi bercakap di media sosial macam dia sajalah yang betul.


tiada beza dengan sesetengah ummah islam yang membabi buta ikut setat setazah penunggang agama.

tapi memang betul di malaysia wanita tak bertudung memang senang jadi sasaran, terutamanya jantan2 melayu perasan suci.
aku yang tak bertudung jadi sasaran juga, sedangkan aku bukannya golongan liberal dan perjuangkan apa2 agenda.

lkick2113

ni lah jadinya kalau hanya pahaman dia pasal aurat aje betul, orang lain punya sesat

lkick2113

thread maryam lee dalam twitter pasal tudung tu pun aku kena bash sekali hahaha

tayam

yeke..xpernah dpt threat pon