A woman took to Twitter to vent her frustrations yesterday, having just had her job emceeing an event in Kota Baru cut short on the grounds that she is Muslim, and cannot have her aurat compromised by using a microphone.
(In Islam, aurat refers to parts of the body that should not be seen in public. While some say that it refers to genitals and a woman’s breasts, some conservatives consider a woman’s voice to be aurat, as it could be a “temptation”.)
Ameer Aida is a freelance emcee, writing that she has worked events across all of the Malaysian states, including Kelantan before, and this is the first time that doing her job has been stopped for Islamic reasons.
She added that she and her client had taken precautions when working in the conservative state, wearing loose fitting clothing and even donning the hijab; however, she was stopped by officers from the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB).
Writing that she was now on a bus back to Kuala Lumpur, despite having intended to stay in Kota Baru for five days and fly back. She wrote that she was incredibly disappointed that she was essentially stopped from making a living, and felt generally disheartened with the experience, despite having met many friendly faces.
Past emcees hired by her client have been non-Muslim women, and had not experienced such discrimination.
Many have been left wondering whether this wide use of implementing Sharia law means that it will affect Muslim women singers, teachers, and anyone that has to speak publicly using such logic.
Malaysia is a generally open country, with very moderate Islam practiced. However, Kelantan is a more conservative state, where Sharia law is implemented and enforced. For example, segregation occurs in the public sphere: hair salons, supermarket checkout counters and sports tournaments. Even cinemas must adhere to the strict Sharia codes of the state, should they intend on staying open.
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