‘Coronavirus is like your wife’: Indonesian Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud under fire for online remarks
- ‘Initially you tried to control it, then you realise that you can’t,’ Mahfud said in YouTube clip. ‘Then you learn to live with it.’
- Women’s rights groups criticised Mahfud’s comments, saying they reflected both misogynistic attitudes and an incompetent response to the pandemic
The Indonesian government is preparing to lift partial lockdowns in parts of the country in early June and adopt what it calls “the new normal”.
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“The other day I got a meme from my colleague Luhut Pandjaitan that says: ‘Corona is like your wife. Initially you tried to control it, then you realise that you can't. Then you learn to live with it’,” he said in English.
Pandjaitan is the minister for maritime affairs and investment.
The off-the-cuff remarks drew ire from women's rights groups.
“Jokes that objectify women will only normalise the culture of violence against women,” it said.
Indonesians on social media joined the criticism.
“A man who marries a woman with the intention to control her is horrifying. Comparing a woman to a virus is an insult to the dignity of women,” a Twitter user named Deslina wrote.
Indonesia is deploying 340,000 security personnel in four provinces – Jakarta, West Java, West Sumatra and Gorontalo – to enforce “the new normal,” Armed Forces chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said.
They have been tasked with ensuring the public observe health guidelines set out by the government, including wearing masks and respecting social distancing.
Some Indonesians have expressed concerns about the plan to reopen the economy at a time when the curve appears to have not flattened.
The government has been accused by some experts of under-reporting cases of infections due to low rates of testing.