Wear chastity belts to prevent rape, says cleric

The Straits Times, February 17, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR - WOMEN should wear chastity belts to prevent rape, incest and other sex crimes, a prominent Islamic cleric in northern Malaysia has been quoted as saying.

Datuk Abu Hassan Din Al-Hafiz, speaking in the northern state of Terengganu on Thursday, said chastity belts could protect women from a growing number of sex crimes in Malaysia.

'The best way to avert sex perpetrators is to wear protection,' Datuk Abu Hassan told a crowd of followers.

'My intention is not to offend women but to safeguard them from sex maniacs.'

Elaborating on his idea, he said there would be other positives to donning the belts.

'Husbands could also feel more secure, if you know what I mean,' he said, adding that chastity belts were worn as recently as the mid-1960s.

The cleric, who has served as a religious adviser to Malaysia's king and written books on Islamic studies, said sex crimes had increased in the region of late.

'We have even come across a number of unusual sex cases where even senior citizens and children are not spared,' he said.

Figures on sexual assaults in the northern state were not immediately available.

Religious leaders in Malaysia's conservative north had in the past blamed sexual attacks on women wearing provocative clothing and make-up.

Local Islamic women's groups and other organisations have routinely criticised those views.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, ASSOCIATED PRESS