Two women were caned in Malaysia on Monday after they pleaded guilty to having a same-sex encounter. The unnamed pair were arrested last month, their punishment was scheduled to occur last week but was unexpectedly delayed. Each woman was caned six times.
The case occurred in the state of Terengganu, which observes Sharia Law. The incident is one of many increasing number of times LGBTIQ people have been targeted in Malaysia and is seen as part of a wider crackdown on LGBTI people.
Linda Lakhdhir, a legal adviser in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, said the case was an example of the religious right in the nation “flexing it’s muscles” to show that homosexuality will not be tolerated. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, a remnant of colonial era laws.
Gay rights activist “Numan Afifi from activist group the Pelangi Campaign told CNN that people are feeling very scared because they do not know how the laws will be applied. Previously women had not been targeted by authorities.
“It’s very uncomfortable, (people are) feeling very oppressed right now. People are afraid because this is the first time that two women are being caned for sexual acts,” Afifi said.
It’s just one of a series of incidents that have occurred in recent weeks in the south-east Asian nation. A popular gay club was raided by police, photographs of LGBTI people were removed from an exhibition and a government advisor was forced out of his public service job because he had previously spoken out in favour of LGBTI rights.
The country’s Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told the media that gay people in Malaysia should not “glamorize” their lives.
OIP Staff
