More effort should be focused on raising public awareness of marital rape rather using legislation to control its incidence, says Dr Harlina Halizah Siraj, who heads the women's wing of Islamic group Jemaah Islah Malaysia.

She said non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including women's groups, should direct their attention at those who now pretend that the problem does not exist.

"Not enough is being done to get such people to wake up and realise that there is such a thing as marital rape," she said when contacted.

Harlina was commenting on the uproar in some quarters that are opposed to a proposal by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) that marital rape be categorised as a crime punishable under the Penal Code.

Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman had made the recommendation last Friday in a paper presented to the parliamentary select committee on amendments to the Crimnial Procedure Code and Penal Code.

While agreeing with the need for legislation as a strategy to deal with transgressions, Harlina said this need not be accorded immediate - or sole - priority.

"Since the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1994, law upon law has been enacted ... but can (legislation) alone succeed? The solution lies within society," she said.

Harlina said JIM has been consistent in viewing the law as the last resort, to solve problems. Instead, it believes that the cultivation of respect, understanding and self-respect among men and women should be a basic commitment.

"Everyone needs to try their very best and put things into perspective. The problem with some groups is that they like to ask the government (for intervention), and then hope that everything will be solved," she said.

Mindset change

She also said many groups are not willing to spend time to educate the public, since working for change from the bottom up takes a greater effort and a long time.

There is need to change society's mindset. Many men and women often view the wife to be the possession of the husband, and this has led to exploitation (of the woman), Harlina said.

"Both parties are to blame. Women who do not have self-respect are women who cannot say No."

Harlina further said the media has a role to address the real issues in the incidence of violence against women, including marital rape, rather than merely report such crimes. Ultimately, men have to be educated on the real position and status of women.

"In Islam, if a man forces his wife to have sex with him during her menses or if he sodomises her, she has grounds to ask for fasakh (divorce initiated by the wife).

"But the man could get married to another woman, and he could do the same thing to her ... would this solve the problem?"

Suaram co-ordinator Eric Paulsen said marriage is not a licence for a man to exercise latent sexual aggression.

"Sexual intercourse is rape when it is not consensual. Getting married is not a licence to treat the other (person) as a sex object," he added, agreeing with the need for a law against marital rape.

Women's groups have long been asking for marital rape to be treated as a crime. Their efforts to include it under the Domestic Violence Act 1994 did not succeed, but they have since renewed their call through the parliamentary select committee.

The Star reported today that the Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women has submitted a memorandum asking for the Penal Code to be amended to define marital rape as an offence.