Sisters in Islam (SIS) is questioning the government's motive in caning Muslim women while Malaysia's commitments to international human rights conventions remain unsolved as in the Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor case.

The three women were caned on Feb 9 under Islamic law for having illicit sex , in a first for the Muslim-majority country, even though several issues on syariah and constitutional grounds and sentencing guidelines as raised in the Kartika case are still left hanging.

"We would like to know whether the men involved were also found guilty for illicit sex and similarly sentenced and caned," said SIS executive director Hamidah Marican in a press release.

She also questioned the government's intention as the caning was carried out surreptitiously.

jag suaram hakam join pc on kartika case 300909 hamidah marican Hamidah (left ) has urged Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to take immediate steps to address the several unresolved issues arising from the sentence carried out on these women and the Kartika case.

She also added that the case constitutes further discrimination against Muslim women in Malaysia and violates constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.

Hamidah said the whipping of women under syariah criminal offences legislation contradicts civil law where women are not punishable by caning under Section 289 of Criminal Procedure Code.

'Corporal punishment forbidden for women'

Meanwhile, another women's group has expressed its shock on hearing that the government has carried out carried out the whipping sentence of the three women.

"The home minister needs to explain why the government allowed the punishment to be carried out in secret on an issue that is of high public interest with very far ranging and damaging consequences," said All Women’s Action Society president Sofia Lim. 

"The expediency and the secrecy with which this matter was carried out reek of bad faith, and betray a troubling disregard of public opinion on an issue that has drawn attention around the globe.

"The home minister should explain to why this was rushed before the legitimate questions raised by Kartika’s case have yet to be resolved."

The 13,500-strong Bar Council has also issued a statement slamming the caning of the women.

The legal body said that its members had passed a resolution three years ago rejecting "whipping as a punishment for any offence as it is anachronistic and inconsistent with a compassionate society".

“ judiciary forum lingam tape 171107 ragunath Our position echoes international human rights norms that condemn whipping and other forms of corporal punishment as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” said Bar Council chairperson Ragunath Kesavan ( right ).

“Given that the Kartika issue remains unresolved and the public outcry on issues of constitutionality in regards to the fact that corporal punishment is forbidden for women under Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it is indeed shocking that the government has made the announcement only after the punishment had been carried out.”

End the canning epidemic

International rights group Amnesty International has also called on Malaysia to end what it described as a "caning epidemic", saying that authorities have meted out the punishment to thousands of men in addition to the high-profile case of three women.

Amnesty said the case involving the three women was the "just the tip of the iceberg" and that Malaysia often caned men for routine offenses.

Citing Malaysian authorities, the London-based human rights group said authorities caned more than 35,000 people - mostly non-Malaysians - for immigration violations since 2002.

"These thousands of cases point to an epidemic of caning in Malaysia," said Donna Guest, the group's deputy Asia-Pacific director.

"The Malaysian government needs to abolish this cruel and degrading punishment, no matter what the offense," she said in a statement.

'No injury' from syariah caning

The Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association (PPMM) has criticised those who questioned the syariah caning on the three women for failing to understand the dual legal system practiced in the country.

PPMM president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar regretted the media statements issued by Sisters in Islam (SIS), the Bar Council and several other women NGOs that disputed the caning.

"It must be stressed again that the syariah caning is different from the civil caning. The syariah caning does not cause injury to the offender compared with the civil caning which leaves a scar," he was reported as saying by Bernama . 

He said that describing the syariah caning as cruel was extreme and lacked legal basis.