PETALING JAYA: To Malaysians who are already recoiling at the stifling prohibitions imposed by Shariah law in Kelantan when it comes to concealing their “aurat”, the news that women in Aceh are prohibited from wearing tight pants can only cause more alarm, lest the Kelantan state government latch on to the idea and impose it here as well. Having come into effect as law on January 1, 2010, women in some parts of West Aceh were humiliated further when Shariah police cut their tight jeans and pants and forced them to wear loose-fitting attire in their bid to enforce the law. According to the Jakarta Post, the West Aceh regency administration even stockpiled some 7,000 long skirts to be given away to women caught wearing the offensively tight pants. The law also prohibits clothes vendors from selling jeans and slacks to women. West Aceh Regent Ramli M S, the man behind the controversial regulation, even instructed government agency personnel to refrain from serving women who came to their offices in “un-Islamic” attire. According to BBC news, Ramli said, “We’re not stopping women from wearing trousers. What’s prohibited are tight trousers and jeans. “If they have to wear trousers, the trousers must cover their ankles and be worn under loose, long skirts.”
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 23:39:35 +0000