Women's groups have warned that plans to enact strict Islamic laws in an opposition-ruled state would be a leap backwards in the fight for gender equality. More than 70 women's organsations have rallied together to oppose a move by the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) to introduce strict sharia (Islamic) criminal law in the northeastern Terengganu state next month.

"We reject the whole bill because it is not only a perversion of the Koran, but it blatantly discriminates against women," said Zainah Anwar, executive director of Sisters In Islam.

She said the code, which stipulates that a rape victim who fails to produce proof of the crime would instead be found quilty of adultery, was a deterent to justice.

The victim is required to produce four Muslim men of good character as witnesses to the rape, failing which she could face a punishment of 80 strokes of the whip.

"It is shameless. Where will you find four men of good character to just stand by and witness a rape?" asked Zainah.

"Look at records of other Islamic countries. Again and again and again it is women who are the targets of the implementation of hudud (sharia) law."

'Disgraceful to women'

Women's affairs minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has called for the withdrawal of all clauses and provisions in the bill that are "clearly and absolutely disgraceful to women".

Muslims make up a little over half of the country's 23 million population, and the introduction of sharia laws is also opposed by members of the large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

PAS rules just two of the country's 13 states, and has already tried to introduce sharia law, including amputation of limbs for theft, in northeastern Kelantan, where it took power in 1990.

However, the federal government, which controls the criminal code, has refused to sanction its use and the same sort of stand off is shaping up in Terengganu, which PAS won in 1999 elections.

The party has already banned gambling, and wants to ban bikinis from its beaches. It has limited the sale of alcohol and announced it will stop using women and other "hedonistic influences" in its tourism campaigns.

Formidable opposition

But the plan to go further and introduce sharia law is running into formidable opposition from a wide spectrum of Malaysian women.

"They cannot implement the law because it is against the Federal Consitution, so the bill is just a political statement," Zainah told AFP .

She slammed previous allegations by PAS leaders that Muslims opposed to the setting up of Islamic law were "infidels" (unbelievers).

"This is politics, the use of Islam to declare others as infidels.

"It is a political strategy to deny us the right to express our opinon and offer an alternative view and interpretation within Islam," she said.

"We as a society have to decide which opinion we want to codify into law to ensure justice be done."

The Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion for non-Muslims and does not define the state as Islamic, although Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad declared last year that the country is already an "Islamic state".

Mysogynist and cruel

Ivy Josiah, president of the non-governmental Women's Aid Organisation, said endorsement of the law would be tantamount to "giving licence to the state to be violent".

She said it was "unfortunate" that women were caught in a dispute that was basically political, adding that the issue was a distraction from the fight against already existing sexist laws and practises in Malaysia.

"The whole thing is undeniably an affront to our dignity.

"But we must not get distracted from the fact that there are so many areas within our existing sharia laws that are problematic and infringe on women's rights," she told AFP .

At present, sharia laws cover civil matters for Malaysian Muslims, such as divorce, but are not part of the criminal code.

"Our emphasis is that PAS has always been very visible in its mysogynist and cruel interpretation of laws, but we also have to look at Islamic laws implemented by our present government which is declaring itself to be liberal and just," Ivy said.