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Malaysia tells women to stop nagging husbands, wear makeup while in lockdown, issues apology after backlash

In Facebook posts, the women’s ministry had offered 'tips' on how wives should behave at home while the restrictions were in place. The posts have now been removed
UPDATED APR 1, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The Malaysian government has apologized after advising women to avoid nagging their husbands during the coronavirus lockdown, as well as dress up and wear makeup while working from home -- sexist comments that sparked anger.

The country’s Women and Family Development Ministry had issued advice on how to avoid domestic conflicts during the COVID-19 lockdown, which began on March 18. In a series of Facebook posts, the women's ministry gave tips on how wives should behave while the restrictions were in place.

“The ministry said they were promoting daily tips and positive messages on social media with the #wanitacegahcovid19 (translates into hashtag women prevent COVID19), which covers various themes aimed at women,” reports Straits Times.

According to a Reuters report, one of the campaign posters showed a man sitting on a sofa and asked women to refrain from being sarcastic if they needed help with household chores.

Other posts advised women working at home to wear makeup and dress neatly. (Getty Images)

Another post showed a picture of a couple hanging clothes, next to a caption that asked women to avoid nagging their husbands, and instead imitate the voice of Doraemon, a Japanese cartoon robot cat. “Avoid nagging your husband, another poster said, but use humor or imitate the infantile voice of Doraemon, a blue robot cat from Japan that is hugely popular across Asia,” reports Reuters. 

Other posts advised women to wear makeup and dress neatly while they were working from home. Following these so-called tips, there was a massive public outcry, which prompted the ministry to apologize and remove the posts. “We apologize if some of the tips we shared were inappropriate and touched on the sensitivities of some parties,” the ministry said in a statement.

Nisha Sabanayagam, a manager at All Women's Action Society, a Malaysian advocacy group, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone, that the posters were extremely condescending both to women and men. “These posters promote the concept of gender inequality and perpetuate the concept of patriarchy,” she said. 

Malaysia ranks 104 out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020. According to Straits TImes, a government-run helpline in Malaysia for vulnerable people, including victims of domestic abuse, has seen an increase in calls of over 50% since the start of the lockdown on March 18, local media reported.

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