‘Stop nagging, speak like Doraemon’: Malaysia sorry after coronavirus tips spark sexism row
- The women’s affairs ministry issued tips on how to avoid domestic conflicts during the lockdown and urged women to dress up while working from home
- The apology came after the online posters sparked a public outcry
One of the campaign posters depicted a man sitting on a sofa, and asked women to refrain from being “sarcastic” if they need help with household chores.
Avoid nagging your husband, another poster said, attempting to inject humour by using a voice similar to the anime character Doraemon – a blue robot cat popular across Asia.
The ministry also urged women to dress up and wear their make-up while working from home.
“We apologise if some of the tips we shared were inappropriate and touched on the sensitivities of some parties,” the ministry’s women development department said in a statement.
The apology came after the online posters sparked a public outcry. The posters have since been removed.
“(It) is extremely condescending both to women and men,” said Nisha Sabanayagam, a manager at All Women’s Action Society, a Malaysian advocacy group.
“These posters promote the concept of gender inequality and perpetuate the concept of patriarchy,” she said.
A government hotline that helps domestic abuse victims and vulnerable children has received nearly 2,000 calls - more than doubled the usual numbers - since the start of the partial lockdown, local media reported.
“How did we go from preventing baby dumping, fighting domestic violence to some sad variant of the Obedient Wives Club?” Twitter user @yinshaoloong wrote.
“No tips on how to deal with domestic violence?” asked another user @honeyean.
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