Malaysia asks women to stop 'nagging' husbands in coronavirus advisory

Malaysian government's coronavirus lockdown advice that asked women to 'dress up at home' and 'avoid nagging' their husbands has reportedly sparked a massive row, with critics calling it sexist and condescending of gender stereotypes.

Malaysia has till now reported 2,766 cases of infection and 43 deaths from the COVID-19 outbreak. In a bid to contain further spread of the deadly novel coronavirus infection, the Malaysian government on March 18 announced a partial lockdown. 

Read: 'Home Bound And Relieved': 113 Indians Evacuated From Malaysia Amid Covid-19 Outbreak

On March 31, Malaysia’s Women's Affair Ministry shared a series of online posters, which reportedly triggered gender stereotypes. The posters which were shared with #WomenpreventCOVID-9 advised people to avoid domestic conflicts while being under lockdown.

One of the posters showed a man sitting on a sofa. It then asked women to refrain from being 'sarcastic' if they need help with domestic chores. Another poster, meanwhile, urged women to stop 'nagging'  their husbands if they wanted to avoid domestic conflicts. Yet another asked women to use makeup and dress up while they worked from home.

Read: Coronavirus: Indian Embassy In Malaysia Thanks FS Shringla, EAM Jaishankar For Support

Campaign faces backlash

The posters immediately drew criticisms from activists and commenters alike. While, speaking to an international news agency, Nisha Sabanayagam with All Women’s Action Society, a Malaysian advocacy group, said that it was extremely condescending both to women and men. She added that the posters promoted the concept of gender inequality and perpetuated the concept of patriarchy.

The posters also drew online rage. "How did we go from preventing baby dumping, fighting domestic violence to some sad variant of the Obedient Wives Club?” Twitter user @yinshaoloong wrote. After facing the backlash, Malaysia’s government apologised for the now-deleted posts.

Read: Malaysian Woman Found Coronavirus Positive, First In Jharkhand

Read: Malaysia's King, Queen Quarantined After 7 Palace Staff Members Test Positive For COVID-19

(Image Credits: AP)