PETALING JAYA, May 8 ― Women being shamed online for their clothing is a form of abuse and harassment, says Sisters in Islam communications manager Majidah Hashim.

"The ongoing trend where women are being shamed on social media simply on the basis of their choice of clothing is a form of abuse and harassment and should be met with serious action by the authorities,” Majidah told Malay Mail.

She also said Sisters in Islam opposes any attempts by any government, public institution or the private sector and police to decide and admonish women and girls on what they choose to wear.

"We maintain that personal choices of girls and women must be respected and no punitive measures or harsh treatment should be imposed,” she said on behalf of the Muslim women’s rights group.

Majidah observed that instead of lending support and subduing the masses, there were some members in society who took part in the mob criticising the women.

In the past several months, female celebrities predominantly from the Malay Muslim community were publicly humiliated on social media platforms for not wearing the tudung or accused of wearing revealing clothes.

"Verse 11 of Surah Al-Hujurat of the Holy Quran tells us that no one should ridicule anyone because we don’t know if the other person could be better than another.

"The verse also goes on to tell everyone not to insult and to call each other with offensive nicknames,” Majidah said.

Convenient targets

Women’s rights activist Ivy Josiah said female public figures especially politicians and celebrities are scrutinised because they are out there in the public arena.

This makes them convenient targets to cause distractions instead of focusing on their work we are looking at their hemline, she said.

Josiah, the former Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) executive director and gender consultant said shaming women was not a recent phenomenon and that girls and women face control in many areas in their lives including what they wear, how they should behave, how to sit and talk, right down to their weight and who they marry.

"This happens all over the world because society thinks it has a right to control women, we are not considered equal and that is why there are women’s movements to claim our human rights.

"Women are also expected to dress in a way that represents the culture and religion of a community, and this when it becomes an unnecessary obsession to control women’s attire rather than focus on eliminating the many forms of discrimination against a girl child and women."

She added that women being told their body parts and hair would attract unwanted attention and could possibly lead to sexual harassment was a misconception because women experience sexual harassment regardless of what they wear.

"Also, it is implied that men cannot control themselves, men are better than this, it also time for men to tell other men to stop controlling women,” she said.

To put this trend into perspective on a national level, Majidah said the country cannot afford to disempower women this way when all Malaysians are needed to rebuild the nation economically.

"New Malaysia must wake up to recognising that women had a major role to play in bringing Malaysia to where we are, and women have a major role to play in bringing Malaysia to where it wants to be,” she said.

The focus needs to be on the obstacles preventing women from achieving their fullest potential.

"In a country that embraces modernity like Malaysia, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the rights of all its citizens to justice, equality, freedom and dignity be upheld at all times and not be trampled by states' overzealousness in policing what women choose to wear,” Majidah said.

Policing women’s outfits affects their wellbeing

Ivy said policing a woman’s clothes affect her self-esteem and confidence.

"We are made to feel we are sexual objects and less. It further allows for family members, authorities, security personnel, even a bystander on the street to reprimand women,” she said.

It also hampers a woman’s freedom of expression ― women have the right to talk about what they want to wear.

"Women are not stupid we know what to do, how to dress, how to act, how to speak and at the same time lead countries and reform agendas,” she said.

For Majidah, policing women’s clothing has severe negative effects not just on the woman but society at large.

"At a personal level, the restrictions gravely impact her sense of self-expression, creativity and confidence.

"The magnitude of this is made more severe when we consider that some people want this to be the new societal norm for Malaysia,” said Majidah.