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The Straits Times, Oct 25, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's main body of Islamic clerics has issued an edict banning tomboys in the Muslim-majority country, ruling that girls who act like boys violate the tenets of Islam, an official said yesterday.

At a meeting on Thursday in northern Malaysia, the National Fatwa Council forbade girls to behave or dress like boys, said Perak mufti Harussani Idris Zakaria.

He said the council's ruling was not legally binding because it has not been passed into law, but that tomboys should be banned because their actions are immoral.

'It doesn't matter if it's a law or not. When it's wrong, it's wrong. It is a sin,' he said. 'Tomboy (behaviour) is forbidden in Islam.'

Under the edict, girls are forbidden to sport short hair and dress, walk and act like boys, he said. Boys should also not act like girls, he said.

'They must respect God. God created them as boys, they must behave like boys. God created them as girls, they must act like girls,' he said.

Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said the ruling was prompted by recent cases of young women behaving like men and indulging in homosexual behaviour, according to the national news agency Bernama. He did not elaborate.

A well-known Malaysian Muslim actress caused an uproar last year when she shaved her head bald for a film called Muallaf (The Convert).

Mr Harussani and other muftis urged Muslims not to watch the movie, saying that the actress had violated Islam by making herself look like
a man.

It was not immediately clear what kind of punishment awaited those who violate the tomboy edict, or fatwa. - AP


Source: The Straits Times
Copyright Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.