Row erupts in Malaysia over marital rape

The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) had urged the government to make marital rape a crime, but Perak state mufti Harussani Zakaria said the move went against Islam.

"A husband has the right to be intimate with his wife and the wife must obey," he was quoted Sunday as saying by the Malay-language Mingguan Malaysia.

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"If the wife refuses, then the rule of 'nusyuz' (disobedient) applies and the husband is not required to provide financial assistance to her," Harussani said.

Sharia lawyer Mohamad Zaidi Zain was quoted as saying that Muslim women were only allowed to refuse sex if their husbands were suffering from sexually-transmitted diseases or HIV/AIDS.

The Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women (JAG), representing six womens' rights groups, has submitted a memorandum to the government asking for an amendment to the penal code to define marital rape as an offence.