BEST FBKL: Did those who came up with the poster know, that Doraemon is a male cat!
Ridiculous just to apologise, more stern action must be taken for making Malaysia the laughing stock of the world.
Malaysia apologizes for telling women not to nag during virus lockdowns
Beh Lih Yi
3 MIN READ
REUTERS
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Malaysia apologized on Tuesday after telling women to speak with a cartoon cat voice and avoid nagging their husbands during coronavirus lockdowns, a move that sparked a sexism row.
Malaysia’s women’s affairs ministry issued advice on how to avoid domestic conflicts during the partial lockdown, which began on March 18, with a series of online posters with the hashtag translating as #WomenPreventCOVID19.
One of the campaign posters depicted a man sitting on a sofa and asked women to refrain from being “sarcastic” if they needed help with household chores.
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.
The ministry also urged women to dress up and wear makeup while working from home.
“We apologize if some of the tips we shared were inappropriate and touched on the sensitivities of some parties,” the ministry’s women development department said in a statement.
The apology came after the online posters sparked a public outcry. The posters have since been removed.
“(It) is extremely condescending both to women and men,” said Nisha Sabanayagam, a manager at All Women’s Action Society, a Malaysian advocacy group.
“These posters promote the concept of gender inequality and perpetuate the concept of patriarchy,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.
A government hotline that helps domestic abuse victims and vulnerable children has received nearly 2,000 calls - more than doubled the usual numbers - since the start of the partial lockdown, local media reported.
“How did we go from preventing baby dumping, fighting domestic violence to some sad variant of the Obedient Wives Club?” Twitter user @yinshaoloong wrote before the apology.
