Should Victims Be Blamed For Sexual Harassment When Even Religious Clothing Is Sexualised?

It’s no secret that victims of rape and sexual harassment are often blamed for their choice in attire and ‘putting themselves in a vulnerable position’.

But would ‘appropriate’ clothing really stop a rapist or sexual harasser from carrying out their revolting activities? Here’s an example as to why that might not be the case.

Netizen @syzlxn_ took to her Twitter profile to showcase a man who masturbates into (sometimes stolen) women’s clothing before either secretly placing the stolen clothing back or selling them online. But here’s the kicker, the clothing items are all traditional and religious pieces!

kalau camni laki punya nafsu, sampai telekung pun?! hmmmm. salah perempuan jugak ke? https://t.co/BeHXJagho5 pic.twitter.com/QKobdeT1YN

— ☁️ (@syzlxn_) July 4, 2020

She wrote, “If this is the case when it comes to men and lust, until they even use a telekung? Is it really still a girl’s fault?”

Telekung and tudung

A telekung is a set of religious attire that Muslim women wear during prayers.

Based on the man’s posting, he took telekungs from a surau, masturbated into them and returned them to where he took them from.

The man wrote, “Today, I’m using telekungs and head scarfs. So, as usual, which surau (he took the clothing from) is a secret. I got a head scarf that still had the smell of the owner’s sweat, smells a little sour and fragrant. It’ll do. The telekung, I squirted in it until it was drenched and placed it back.”

Baju Kebaya

And the man didn’t stop there. He also bought a traditional kebaya outfit off of a social media influencer before masturbating into it and reselling it online to another girl.

“I can’t handle this, I have to share. So, I bought a kebaya outfit from an Instagram famous person. Recently, I resold the kebaya to this other girl, she’s so pretty and it’s geram (a sense of love/hate) looking at her body and boobs. Before I sold it to her, I left a little memento. It’s so satisfying to see her wearing it.”

Choice of attire

This matter was brought to light after a video of a Malaysian educator broke the local web-sphere after he said that victims should consider the position they put themselves in, as showcased by @sarahfia.

At one point in the video, the teacher said, “Come on la, we are trying to find out who is in the wrong. We want the authorities to take action against the wrong-doer, but you shouldn’t disturb the process without looking at yourself. Try sitting in front of a mirror, look at yourself and ask, ‘Was I wearing the right clothing?'”

The teacher has since apologised for his statements.

“Some pointed out that this may stem from a fetish”

And it also turns out that there’s a possibility that this is stemmed from a fetish in which religious clothing is sexualised based on a person’s imagination.

But with such fetishism of clothing, is it really justifiable that victims are to be blamed for their choice in attire, when even clothing (may it be religious or not) that fully covers a person’s body and hides the shape, are actively being sexualised?

It’s very disheartening when you consider the fact that victims are often blamed. People should not have to be held accountable for someone else’s actions and wrongdoings.

What do you think about this? Let us know in the comment section.

Also read: #JusticeForNicole: The Alleged Rape Case In Malaysia & What You Need To Know