Malaysian Women Caned In Public For Violating Sharia Law By Attempting ‘Lesbian Sex’

Two women in Malaysia were caned six times each in public after being found “guilty” of attempting ‘lesbian sex’, Metro has reported.

The women aged 32 and 22 were sentenced to the caning under Malaysia’s strict sharia law. They were arrested by in April by Islamic enforcement officials in the country’s ultra-conservative northern Terengganu state. As per the authorities, the unnamed women were attempting to have sex inside a car, at a public square.

Subsequently, the women were said to have pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to six lashings and a fine of 3,300 ringgits.

The caning thus happened on Monday morning (3 September) at about 10 AM local time in the Sharia High Court at Kuala Terengganu. About 100 people watched it.

The activists who protested this punishment claimed that it was the first time women have been caned under this charge. They also claimed that this incident highlights the deteriorating climate for the gay community in the country.

The deputy president of Muslim Lawyers Association Abdul Rahim Sinwan, looked like downplaying the situation by stating that, “In shariah caning, it is not meant to hurt the person. It is to educate the person. Therefore it’s not painful, it’s not harsh. It’s not meant to hurt the person.”