Malaysians must learn to accept Muslim women wearing the ‘tudung’ (head covering) as it is a guaranteed right to practise their religion in the country and elsewhere, an opposition MP said today.

PKR’s Padang Serai MP N Surendran said that it was unconstitutional and unacceptable for anybody, whether in the public or private sector, not to respect this human right.

"This right is absolute and cannot be diminished. All persons or bodies, including the private sector, must respect the sacrosanct provisions of Article 11(of the Federal Constitution)," Surendran said in a statement.

"Discrimination or other detrimental actions against Muslim women for wearing the ‘tudung’ is a flagrant breach of their human rights."

Surendran referred to two recent incidents whereby women wearing scarves were affected.

Singer Marinatasha Isnariah Mustapar was allegedly stopped from performing at a corporate event on Jan 18 for wearing the tudung and before that, a teacher was also told by a school management board to remove her scarf .

He cited Article 11 of the Federal Constitution as guaranteeing every person's 'right to profess and practise his or her religion'.  It is also a universal right and entrenched in Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Surendran added.

Furthermore, such discrimination could also breach Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which makes every person 'equal before the law'.

Meanwhile, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) also roundly condemned such discrimination.

'Employment-related discrimination'

The coalition of women's rights groups said the recent cases should be classified as a form of "employment-related discrimination" that has also been agreed upon by the United Nations.

"A woman's right to work cannot be limited by the selection of clothing or religion, and this extends to her choice to wear a hijab (head scarf), or not wearing it," JAG said in a statement.

JAG noted that other countries, such as Norway, Turkey or Germany, have also been chided by the UN for circumventing international women rights conventions by banning Muslim women from wearing head scarves at work.

"However, we should remember that this principle should also apply to those who choose not to be covered. Women's right to work or study and so forth... should not be denied if they choose not to be covered," JAG said.

 

"In the event of any incident like this happening again in the future - although we hope not - force and intimidation should not be the solution; rational and civilised discussion is clearly the better choice."