Beating a Woman in Malaysia

Jesse | Aug 24, 2009

Anyone following the news lately has heard of the case of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a young woman in Malaysia who has been sentenced under Sharia law to be “caned” for having a beer. This is a young woman, 32 years old, with two young children. She will be punished in prison, away from public view, with six strikes from some sort of “cane” instrument. In other words, she’s going to be beaten for having a beer.

Drinking is illegal in Malaysia because of Muslim laws, and all ethnic Malays are considered to be Muslims.

This unfortunate woman has apparently been selected to set an example. CNN just ran a report on the situation, going out of their way to point out that “caning” people for drinking in Malaysia is very unusual and that this will be the first woman to receive that punishment.

Perhaps part of the reason for meting out such a severe punishment is the fact that she’s very attractive and a part-time model. To the primitive Muslim men who sit in judgment on these kinds of sins, that alone is probably worth a good beating.

The kind of beating she’s going to get, now delayed until after Ramadan, isn’t a minor punishment by any means. From a report in The New York Times:

[Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi] said the rattan cane to be used on Kartika would be lighter than the one used on men, and its purpose was to ”educate” rather than punish. …

Caning, administered on the buttocks, breaks the skin and leaves permanent scars.

From an excellent editorial in The Wall Street Journal:

This is no trivial punishment. “At the end of the caning, those who receive more than three strokes will be in a state of shock,” a Singaporean director of prisons explained in a 1974 interview. “Many will collapse.” No wonder Malaysian civil courts outlaw caning as a punishment for women.

For those who insist on diminishing the absurdity of Sharia law in civilized countries — like the U.K. — this should be a lesson on the kinds of things that can happen once that door is opened.

Anyone who isn’t outraged by this example of primitive Muslim culture in practice needs to have his or her moral compass re-calibrated.

(This article was also posted at Opinion Forum.)