Gender equality activist enraged by Terengganu's law punishing unmarried pregnant women
Gender equality activist Tehmina Kaoosji
In a Twitter thread with almost 600 retweets, Tehmina (@TehminaKaoosji) expressed her dismay at the latest Terengganu legislation that punishes women for being pregnant outside of marriage.
She stated that the legislation would force pregnant adolescent girls into child marriages, perpetuating a cycle of abuse and poverty.
“Terengganu will penalise pregnant underage girls with a maximum three years jail, RM5000 fine & six strokes of rotan while boys/men who father babies go scot-free!
“Child marriage becomes the only option for pregnant teens/girls while the state takes no responsibility for ensuring basic child rights in harmony with the Malaysian constitution and various international treaties like CRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child),” she wrote.
Tehmina added that such draconian regulations would worsen the life outcomes of pregnant girls and the overall development of Terengganu and the nation over decades.
Yesterday Terengganu state executive councillor for shariah implementation, education, and higher education, Datuk Satiful Bahri Mamat, stated that three new clauses regarding women posing as men, women conceiving or giving birth to a child outside of marriage, and sodomy were added to the modified statute.
As part of its efforts to tighten current state shariah legislation, the Terengganu government had also passed several laws prohibiting shamanism and witchcraft.
