Malaysian Islamic group condemns 'sexy' school uniforms

AFP - Thursday, May 22 KUALA LUMPUR, May 21, 2008 (AFP) - A Malaysian Islamic group on Wednesday condemned the uniform worn by girls at government schools, saying it encouraged rape and pre-marital sex. "The white blouse is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of attraction," National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia vice-president Munirah Bahari said in a statement. "It becomes a distraction to men, who are drawn to it, whether or not they like looking at it," she said, calling for a review of uniform policy so that it did not violate Islamic ideals. In multicultural Malaysia, home to majority-Muslim Malays as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, female students at government schools have a choice of wearing a white blouse with a knee-length skirt or pinafore. They may also wear a "baju kurung" which is a traditional long top and skirt, and a headscarf is optional for Malay students. Munirah said that "covering up" according to Islamic precepts was important to fend off social ills including "rape, sexual harassment and even premarital sex which involve schoolgirls in their teens." "All this leads to babies born out of wedlock and to an extent, even prostitution," she said. "Decent clothes which are not revealing can prevent and protect women from any untoward situations," she said, suggesting that girls wear a blouse of a different colour or with an undergarment. However, the girls themselves also came in for criticism, with the association saying some used the white blouse to lure men. "This is the source of the problem, where we can see that schoolgirls themselves are capable of using this to attract men to them," Munirah said. "This could see them getting molested, having pre-marital sex and all sorts of things."