Outrage in Malaysia after MP suggests rape victims should marry their rapists
The MP also suggested that girls as young as 12 might be ‘spiritually and physically’ ready for marriage
Rape victims can ward off a “bleak future” by marrying their rapists, an MP and former judge has suggested in the Malaysia parliament.
Former sharia judge Datuk Shabudin Yahaya made the comments at the Houses of Parliament during a debate over a bill on sexual offences against children.
While he acknowledged rape as a criminal offence, Yahaya suggested that rapists and their victims could solve social problems and “turn a new leaf” by getting married.
“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.
An MP from Barisan National – the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 – Yahaya also suggested that girls as young as 12 might be “spiritually and physically” ready for marriage.
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 said.