A Malaysian member of parliament has come under fire for saying that women denying sex to their husbands was a form of psychological and emotional abuse.
Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was addressing a domestic violence debate during a parliamentary session.
Malaysia is in talks to amend existing laws against domestic violence.
He said even though men are said to be physically stronger than women, there are cases where wives hurt or abuse their husbands in an extreme manner.
He also said usually, it involves wives cursing their husbands: this is emotional abuse. They insult their husbands and refuse his sexual needs.
Mohamad Zulkifly made the comments during a parliamentary debate on amendments to domestic violence legislation.
Politicians and activist groups have expressed hopes that the new bill will offer more protection for victims of domestic abuse.
It also remains legal in Malaysia, a Muslim‑majority country, for Muslim men to have as many as four wives as long as they obtain permission from a Sharia court.
Mohamad Zulkifly touched on this in a speech to parliament, saying that denying a Muslim man the chance to marry a second wife also amounted to "abuse".
Source: BBC
