Caning A Woman Under Syariah Law

With Sudan’s Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein spared the caning, attention is now focused back to Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno who was sentenced to a fine and 6 strokes of the cane under Syariah law for drinking alcohol in public. But exactly how is a woman to be caned under Syariah law?

Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi said that the rattan cane to be used on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno would be lighter than that used on men. Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said it is “not going to inflict pain, not even like the caning carried out in schools in those days”. Prosecutor Saiful added that the purpose of caning Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is to “educate” rather than punish.

Now thanks to Mohamad Hafiz Hassan’s letter published in a recent issue of The Malaysian Insider, we can understand more on how this caning is to be carried out on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno if the current judicial review does not result in a reprieve for here.

Subsection 2 of section 125 of the Syariah Criminal Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1997 provides that the cane, excluding its holder, shall be of the same type and made either from rattan or small branch of a tree without segment or joint and its length not more than 1.22 metres and its thickness not more than 1.25 centimetres.

This section also requires that before caning, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will be examined by a Government Medical Officer to certify her fitness to undergo this caning. If she is pregnant, the caning will be postponed until two months after delivery or miscarriage, as the case may be. The person appointed to do the caning shall use the cane with average force without lifting his hand over his head so that the offender’s skin is not cut.  After inflicting a stroke, that person must lift the cane upward and not pull it. Caning may be inflicted on all parts of the body expect the face, head, stomach, chest or private part. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will be fully clothed and will be caned in a sitting position if her caning sentence is upheld.

Malaysia runs on 2 parallel legal systems – civil law and (in some states) Syariah law.  Malaysia’s civil law prohibit women to be caned. Observers believe that Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim country will be adversely affected if Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is canned.

Earlier posts

Model Caning Case – Malaysia Prison Authorities Ready To Cane
Who Is Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno?
Model Caning Case – Latest Developments
To Cane Or Not?
New Twist In Malaysian Model Caning Case
Sudan Caning Case – Lubna Hussein In Jail