I have no idea about the life experiences that both Shafiqah and Zurairi had endured for them to be so vindictive over authoritative and knowledgeable figures, particularly the Muslim clerics in response to their ‘Marital Rape’ comments, but here’s my take. They might think that these Islamic figures have lower IQ’s compared to themselves, thus they are unable to deduce any logic reasoning and eventually resort to whatever had been prescribed 1,400 years ago. This explains the ‘caveman behaviour’ that they stereotype upon those clerics.

A marriage itself is a consensual contract upon a husband and wife, which is not bound by time. Both shares specific responsibilities, with certain level of flexibility, of course upon mutual agreement. Unlike a proper business or employment contract where one would scrutinise every single line written in that legal document, I notice that details of responsibilities in marriage are never seriously discussed by any couple until they are married. And then all hell breaks loose.

In my humble view, rape is a form of sexual bullying where physical and emotional intimidation are imposed upon the victim. Rape transcends all walks of life and age. The trauma upon the victim is massive. Rape should not be allowed to take place anywhere, anytime, and to anyone, under whatever circumstances. And yes, women may force emotional rape on men as well, which I would leave the details for your own imagination.

Back to marital rape. The clerics are right when they say that marital rape does not exist in Islam. But to the humanist and feminist; perhaps emphasising the fact that entering a marriage in Islam involves both parties recognizing each other’s mental & physical state (which would also include identifying the other party’s family values and upbringing approaches), would greatly help them from selecting potential mates who may bully and intimidate them throughout their marriage (this includes treating their spouse as some disposable commodity). If either party need more help in identifying their potential mate compatibility, this is when the tradition of seeking advice from a trusted non-partisan elder may come handy as his or her judgement will not be clouded by lust or love.

Under the pretext that a marriage is entered into with both parties thoroughly understanding and respecting their roles within the marital contract, and with due diligence done prior to entering the marriage contract (as any sound business entity would do prior to a JV), marital rape will not occur in Islam. It is very clear and simple. Thus I can deduce that the clerics are being more logical and practical than these humanist and feminist, or perhaps they need to retake their IQ test. 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.