Are men that easily attracted?

Are men that easily attracted?

IAN MCINTYRE, FLORENCE A. SAMY and JO TEH Wed, Jun 25, 2008 The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Women's groups are again outraged that Kelantan has issued directives on dressing for women.

The latest is the Kota Baru Municipal Council's circular asking Muslim women not to use heavy lipstick nor wear high-heels as they could lead to immoral activities.

"Again and again and again, they are singing the same old song. It is so sad that again they are telling women what to wear and not to wear," said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.

"They tell women not to wear lipstick and heels because it will incur unnecessary attention. Are you saying men are that easily attracted and that women are supposed to dress according to what men dictate?" she questioned.

Sisters-in-Islam programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi expressed outrage that the same tune was being sung despite PAS' promise to drop their Islamic agenda as part of Pakatan Rakyat.

"Why is it that women are very often made victims of moral policing? Even women in tudung wear lipstick. Does this mean they are immoral?

"What is so un-Islamic about wearing high-heels or lipstick?

"Why can't the Kelantan government concentrate on more important matters such as cleanliness or eradicating poverty?" she asked.

Women's Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah said it was a recurring nightmare as "this is not the first time that the state is imposing controls on women's dress, lipstick or hair".

Women activist Maria Chin Abdullah said: "How are they going to explain children or grandmothers being raped? They do not wear high-heels or lipstick, nor do they ask to be raped yet it happens."

In Kota Baru, MPKB clarified that remarks on lipstick and high-heel shoes in its circular in May were only meant to encourage Muslim women to observe the Islamic dress code.

Its public relations director Azman Mohd Daham said the circular was merely a guideline.

"No action will be taken if they wear thick make-up or high-heel shoes," he told journalists.

State Women Affairs Committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Wan Omar was reported to have said that she supported the circular and asked why women should enslave themselves to attract men by wearing high-heels and excessive lipstick.