FT mufti: Girls in underage 'consensual' sex not blame-free

Summary

• Federal Territories mufti Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil Noor argues that girls involved in consensual underage sex should also bear moral and legal responsibility.

• He says the law unfairly punishes only men and risks encouraging repeat offences.

• Fauwaz stresses that punishing both parties would be more just, educational, and consistent with Islamic principles.

Federal Territories mufti Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil Noor has suggested that girls involved in underage consensual sex also bear responsibility, rather than being fully absolved of blame under the law.

He noted that civil law tends to focus primarily on prosecuting the male party in such cases, while protecting the female. However, he argued that this approach does not reflect the reality of situations where both parties may have been complicit.

He said the law appeared to be biased, punishing only one party even though both are morally culpable.

Such an approach does not resolve the underlying problem, Fauwaz said, explaining that rape or sexual intercourse between non-marital partners, whether consensual or not, is clearly contrary to Islamic teachings.

“If women are found guilty, they too must be punished. For instance, if a woman is convicted of fornication, she is subject to the same penalty.

”In cases of consensual underage sex, while civil law protects the female party, it should not absolve her of moral or legal accountability if she was complicit. Punishing both sides appropriately sends a stronger educational and deterrent message.

“Exempting certain groups from punishment risks encouraging repeat offences. It also ignores the reality that in many cases, both parties willingly participate, even if one is underage,” he said on the Federal Territories Mufti Office’s website.

Punishing both parties also reinforces that such crimes are not gender-specific, but moral and legal violations by anyone who breaches the law, he added.

The article was also shared on the office’s Facebook page.

Holding every individual accountable

Fauwaz, however, said that the authorities may also rightfully impose harsher penalties on men who exploit underage girls.

“This is because girls under 16 are not yet mature enough to make sound judgments, whereas men bear the duty to guide and protect, not harm,” he explained.

He called for more proportionate punishments to be imposed on all parties involved, adding that exempting one side will not resolve the issue but open the floodgates for more crimes.

He said the application of punishment in Islam also aligns with hifz al-amn (preservation of social order).

“Exempting any party found guilty from punishment contradicts this principle. It also goes against the maqasid ‘imarah, which holds every individual accountable for cultivating goodness on earth and preventing wrongdoing.

“Islamic law aims to provide education (ta’dib) to both offenders and society as a whole, so that crimes are not repeated.

“Therefore, granting immunity from punishment to only one party is seen as inconsistent with the objectives and principles of Islamic jurisprudence,” Fauwaz added.

Kelantan police chief’s proposal

His statement today appeared to be justifying Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat’s suggestion that girls involved in statutory rape cases should be charged alongside the adult male perpetrator.

Yusoff argued for the consideration of his proposal by saying nearly 90 percent of statutory rape cases are consensual, based on investigations.

His statement, however, received backlash, with DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng urging him to withdraw his “outrageous” suggestion.

Lim said that the intention behind the existing law is to protect young girls from sexual exploitation due to their age, as they are not mature and knowledgeable enough to be able to decide on their own to consent to sexual relationships.

Expressing similar sentiments, Lawyers for Liberty co-founder Latheefa Koya deemed the police’s suggestion as “beyond ridiculous”, highlighting the logic behind the laws on rape that do not criminalise female victims.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said also appeared to dismiss Yusoff’s sentiment, adding that the government remains committed to upholding international standards in cases of rape, particularly those involving minors.

“We adhere to the international standard that ‘statutory rape is statutory rape’.

“I don’t think we will be shifting away from that position,” Bernama reported her as saying, after attending the Malacca and Negeri Sembilan-level Anti-Bullying Tribunal Townhall session at the Al-Azim Mosque Auditorium in Malacca today.

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