Joining hands today, federal Opposition lawmakers from PAS and Umno called on the Pakatan Harapan government to introduce a policy to protect the “modesty” of Muslim women at their workplace.
The MPs from the two Malay Muslim parties said there is a need to create a policy that upholds the constitutional right of Muslim women to cover their “aurat” while at work.
“The right of women to protect their modesty should be protected via policy by the government because it is in line with the Federal Constitution,” PAS’s Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Yusof said in a news conference at Parliament.
She was backed by Kuala Kangsar MP Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid, Wanita Umno chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad and accompanied by a host of other PAS lawmakers.
“Aurat” refers to parts of the body that should be covered from being seen by the opposite gender.
In Malaysia, this has most commonly been translated to mean covering the hair for Muslim women, which has resulted in widespread use of the tudung or headscarf in recent years. – Malay Mail