JUST more than 20% of Muslim women surveyed by advocacy group Sisters in Islam (SIS) have agreed men have the right to hit their wives.

The group said the figure, even if it is 142 out of 675 Muslim respondents, is worrying, as is the reason cited by them.

The women interviewed said their husbands are justified in beating them if they have been “nusyuz” (disobedient or rebellious).

“Tweny-one percent of the 675 women say men have the right to hit their wives if they are being disobedient,” SIS said in its newly released survey titled “Perceptions and Realities: The Public and Personal Rights of Muslim Women in Malaysia”.

Ninety-seven percent of the women interviewed also agreed that a woman must obey her husband and that a “good woman” is considered one who is obedient.

In its analysis of the findings, SIS said this concept of obedience has led to women being subjected to injustices.

The organisation said it has received numerous complaints from women who were afraid of lodging reports on domestic violence, including marital rape, while to complain publicly is deemed an act of “misconduct” towards men.

In line with such thinking, 88% of women surveyed felt that a woman is considered disobedient or “nusyuz” if she left the house without her husband’s permission.

Other examples of “nusyuz” behaviour cited by respondents, include a woman’s refusal to have sexual intercourse, refusal to open the door for her husband, refusal to answer when he calls or to follow his instructions.

These behaviours warrant a beating, the women told interviewers.

“Under these circumstances, they believe a husband may beat his wife. They believe that these are acts of disobedience by the wife and therefore, the husband is permitted to strike her.

“This goes against the principles of the Quran and is in complete contradiction to the practice of our Prophet who never hit his wife,” SIS said.

The survey also looked at polygamy and found that 70% of women interviewed accepted it was the husband’s right to take more wives, provided he could treat all of them fairly.

However, only 32% said they would actually allow their husbands to take another wife.

“Polygamous marriage is okay if men can be fair, but I am not allowing my husband to marry another woman,” a respondent was quoted in the survey findings.

Ninety-two percent of women also agreed that a wife has the right to seek a divorce in any circumstance, while 66% said a woman had the right to demand a divorce if her husband decides to take another wife.

The 675 women interviewed were between the age of 18 and 55 and lived in rural and urban areas across Malaysia.

The interviews, conducted in Bahasa Malaysia, were held in June with funding from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights of the European Union.

The findings are being released today at an international women’s rights conference organises by SIS at the Istana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The four-day conference looking at the role of women in fighting religious extremism.