The Malaysian government was forced to apologize after its Women’s Development Department published a series of sexist “tips” to help deal with the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
After pulling down the online posters on Tuesday, the Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development said it was aimed at “maintaining positive relationships among family members during the period they are working from home,” however, it would “remain cautious in the future.”
Malaysia’s Ministry of Women, Family and Community Welfare had issued bizarre advises, through a series of online posters on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #WomenPreventCOVID19, for the nation’s women to help the country cope up with the partial lockdown imposed to contain the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.
“Malaysia’s Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development issued a series of online posters on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #WomenPreventCOVID19. It advised the nation’s women to help with the country’s partial lo…https://t.co/XaECIWajKBhttps://t.co/J8YaDnph5q
— TatyanaFertelmeyster (@TFertelmeyster) April 2, 2020
The Ministry, in what could be seen as a very sexist and misogynistic piece of advice, warned the women to refrain from being “sarcastic” to their husbands while asking them to help with household chores. It urged women working from home to dress up in tight clothes and wear makeup. And the weirdest of all, to cajole the husbands by speaking to them in the voice of “Doraemon”.
For the uninitiated, Doraemon is a Japanese manga series which has also been adapted into a successful anime series, very popular amongst the children. Doremon is this helpful fictional robotic character who is supposed to be very loyal and obedient to Nobita, the protagonist of the Doraemon series.
These advices, to promote “household happiness”, had prompted criticism online for pushing gender stereotypes which compelled the Ministry to pull down the posters and apologises for its ill-conceived campaign.
Many Malaysians couldn’t understand the reference to Doraemon or how the ministry could trivialise the issue of gender balance and domestic violence particularly when the lockdown due to coronavirus has been sparking concerns over a rise in domestic violence cases. Many called it extremely condescending both to women and men.
The Tablighi Jamaat has emerged as the ‘super-spreader’ of the Wuhan Coronavirus in India. members of the Islamic Missionary organization have spread the deadly virus across the lengths and breadths of India and its clerics have engaged in the most nefarious of behaviours such as spitting on the doctors in order to infect them with the virus. Furthermore, the Maulana of Markaz, Nizamuddin, Mohammed Saad Kandhalvi, has been revealed to be a deluded bigot who urged Muslims to defy the nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government of India.
Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has a rather intriguing past. The Darul Uloom Deoband categorically issued a fatwa in 2016 against the Tablighi Jamaat for comments made by Maulana Saad Kandhalvi. Accusing him of ‘perversion, misinterpretation of Islamic texts and desecration of prophethood of the messengers of Allah,’ Darul uloom Deoband declared him “misguided” and “deviant”. The fatwa stated, “It is our religious duty to warn Muslims particularly those with the Tablighi Jam’ at that Maulvi Sa’ad Kandhaulvi, the current chief of the Jam’at, is misinterpreting Quran and Hadith.”
Darul Uloom Deoband took particular offense at Maulana Saad Kandhalvi for claiming that after Mecca and Madina, the Markaz, Nizamuddin is the holiest place in Islam. “We can’t remain silent and a mute spectator when Maulvi Saad Kandhalvi continues to disseminate his perverted views and wrong interpretations about Islam in large gatherings”, the Darul Uloom said. “After a close analysis of his speeches we have come to the conclusion that Mualana Saad Kandhaulvi has gone astray and he must repent without any delay”, the fatwa stated.
Darul Uloom Deoband has also said, “Moulana Muhammed Saad Saheb khandhelwi Saheb, due to a lack of knowledge has strayed from the path of the majority of the Ulema of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah in his ideologies and his explanation of Qur’aan and Hadeeth, which is undoubtedly the path of deviation. Therefore, silence cannot be adopted regarding these matters, because, even though these ideologies are those of a single person, they are spreading with great speed among the general masses.”
Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has also run into trouble within Tablighi Jamaat itself. Former head of the Tablighi Jamat Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi had formed a 10-member legislation before his death in 1995 to look after the affairs of the Jamaat and this legislation (commonly shura) was intact until 2015. Over the years, most leaders of this shura passed away and subsequently in 2015, a meeting was held in Raiwind, Pakistan in order to fill the vacant spaces. Consequently, a new shura consisting of 13 members was formed. However, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi did not agree with this newly formed shura and declared himself the head of the Tablighi Jamaat.
Following Maulana Saad Kandhalvi’s usurpation of power, the group split into three factions. One was the Markaz Nizamuddin faction headed by Saad himself. The second was in Pakistan known as the Raiwind faction and the third was in Bangladesh. As a consequence, there was a split in the Tablighi Jamaat in other countries as well based on their allegiances to the respective factions.
In January 2018, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi was forced to return to India without attending the Biswa Ijtema organized by the Jamaat in Bangladesh following protests by what was said to be by the Bangladeshi faction of the Jamaat. However, later, the blame for the demonstrations against the Maulana was placed on Hefazat-e-Islam, another Islamist group. Maulana Saad Kandhalvi is also known to hold extremely fundamentalist views of Islam. He is reported to have once said, “Using Mobile phones with an Islamic app or Qur’an app is worse than fornication (Zina). Thus, those even the Ulema and Islamic clerics who enter washrooms with such mobile phones in their pockets are worse than the fornicators (Zinaakaar)”.
Maulana Saad Kandhalvi was born on the 10th of May, 1965. He has a degree in Aalim from a madrasa known as Kaashif-ul-Uloom. He is the son of Maulana Muhammed Haroon and grand son of Muhammad Yusuf Kandhalvi. After the death of Inmul Hasan Kandhalvi, Maulana Saad became one of the three decision makers of Shura. He has three sons and two daughters. He has written numerous books as well.
Maulana Saad Kandhalvi in a sermon the 23rd of March instigated Muslims to defy the lockdown. He said, “This is the time to fill the mosques. I have been saying this since beginning that this is the time to fill up the mosques. Do not come into the talks to empty the mosques. In fact, it is the time to increases the mosques.” He added, “Those who have no faith in Allah, through these schemes and excuses of trying to save Muslims from the disease are trying to keep us away. They have found an excuse to keep Muslims away from coming here. They want to put this fear in the Muslims that those who gather in huge numbers can get infected. The disease will pass but the fear will not. This is a tactic to create fear amongst the Muslims and to end the love and brotherhood Muslims have amongst each other. This is a program created. This program is created against Muslims to make them appear ‘untouchables’. They think this is a good excuse to do this. There is no problem in staying away from those who have caught the infection. But Muslims should not meet Muslims? This is ‘jihalat‘.”
“This is not the time to leave mosques and disperse. Why did people believe that gathering in group will spread coronavirus? Why did people not believe that if we come together then Allah will send angels and with the help of angels the peace will return to the world,” the Maulana said further. He stated, “If you start listening to doctors and stop doing the namaaz and stop meeting people… yes, so you are sick, then pray to the 70,000 angels. Why are you not having faith in the angels? How will you be cured by taking medicines from doctor if you cannot be saved by the 70,000 angels? This is not the time to stay away and be afraid.”
A group of people who are quarantined at the Gandhi hospital in Hyderabad of Telangana offered namaaz on Thursday violating all the social distancing norms, by standing close to each other in the hospital ward.
Around 1200 people from the state of Telangana had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event. Of them, 700 has been self-quarantined while over 50 have been found infected by the novel coronavirus.
The Tablighi jamaat event has been found as a reason for a sudden surge in the number of cases in India after hundreds of cases across India were identified to be linked to the religious congregation. Several casualties have also been reported which were also traced to the event.
Authorities across India have appealed to the participants of the Tablighi event to come forward and report to local authorities.
There has been a surge of 131 cases in the last 12 hours, most of them the attendees of the Tablighi jamaat event. The total number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 2107 in India. 62 casualties have been reported while 175 cases have recovered and discharged.
A Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student threatened to cough at the faces of security guards and “spread coronavirus” after he was not allowed to leave the campus during the nationwide lockdown, Times Now has reported.
#Breaking | Ruckus outside JNU campus, student threatens guard saying ‘I will cough at you’ & spread Coronavirus.
According to the report, the student, identified as Pranav, did not have the required pass for going outside the campus while the 21-day nationwide lockdown is in force.
After being stopped from venturing outside, the student blocked the gate and refused to budge. When the guards tried to move him he started creating a ruckus at the campus gate. In the video, the student can be seen holding on to a guard’s collar and even snatching the mask from the face of a guard.
— Ritu (सत्यसाधक) #EqualRightsForHindus (@RituRathaur) April 2, 2020
During the course of the confrontation he also reportedly threatened to cough at the guards and spread coronavirus. After the student assaults the guards, they too are seen retaliating.
“I have written permission to move out of campus, I will not move from here at any cost, you want to move me then come, touch me. I will cough on you, I will spread corona,” the student is heard saying to the security. The student claimed that he had written permission from the hostel warden.
However, the guards maintained that the letter did not have the required stamp of the hostel warden and hence could not be verified for authenticity. “How can I accept this letter, what is the credibility of letter without a stamp,” the guard said as he tried to convince the student to go back to campus.
The student has now claimed that he was “beaten black and blue by the guards” and referred to AIIMS trauma centre.
Following the incident, the security personnel filed a complaint against the student and the matter has been escalated to the Delhi Police.
Update: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Registrar, in a statement said that few faculty members of the institute are directly or indirectly supporting the students who are regularly flouting the government guidelines and endangering health and safety of JNU campus residents. The administration has warned that strict action will be taken against them.
It is the bane of India that propagandists and their lies are not quarantined even during a pandemic. As India tries its best to contain the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic that claimed thousands of lives across the globe, propagandists who don the cloak of journalism and politicians who lie in chaste English have come out of the woodworks to spread blatant lies against the government of India. Sadly, even in the time of a pandemic, for such elements, belittling the Prime Minister is far more important than ensuring that as a public figure, the information they choose to decimate does not lead to more panic, confusion and disenchantment. It all started when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM CARES Fund.
The PM CARES Fund is an emergency fund that was set up to provide relief to those affected by the Wuhan Coronavirus. The PM CARES, or the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been set up as a public charitable trust. The Prime Minister is the chairman of this trust and its members include Defence Minister, Home Minister And Finance Minister.
As soon as it was launched, the fund received a thumping reception with thousands of people donating to it, including industrialists, Bollywood stars and the average folk. That the call of the Prime Minister was being heeded to obviously did not sit too well with his detractors. No sooner was the fund launched, did conspiracy theories and blatant lies started filling the internet, especially, Twitter.
Yesterday, Suhasini Haider, an alleged journalist with the alleged newspaper called The Hindu spread baseless ‘source-based’ information about the PM CARES Fund.
Sources: Foreign contributions will only be accepted to the “PM cares Fund” as the situation with the Coronavirus is unexpected and of far larger proportions than previous calamities.
Haider wrote that according to her ‘sources’, India has taken a decision to accept foreign donations to the PM Fund and that those contributions will be accepted due to the unexpected and far larger proportions of the pandemic compared to previous calamities. She added a disclaimer, presumably to mislead her readers that previously the Government of India had rejected foreign aid, including most recently when UAE, Qatar etc offered aid for Kerala floods.
This thread was then quoted by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to further the lie.
He alleged that the Government of India did not accept funds for Kerala floods because it ‘hurts their ego’, but accepting foreign funds to fight a pandemic is fine by them.
In as if a relay-race, Suhasini then quoted a fellow propagandist quoting her tweet to spread lies, to spread further lies! She alleged that the government of India has “presumably” waived off registration process for the PM CARES Fund that would allow it to take foreign contributions.
Presumably, the Govt has waived these requirements for the new PM care fund https://t.co/ez93EaOyY9
The truth of the matter, however, is far from what Suhasini Haider’s sources or her presumptions are alluding to.
Firstly, there is an ocean of a difference between individuals and organisations contributing to an emergency relief fund and sovereign countries offering aid.
At the time of the Kerala floods, it was a sovereign nation that had offered official aid to India to fight the calamity. During that time, the same controversy had raised its head and it was then reported that it was actually the Congress government that had set up a rule that India will not be accepting Foreign aid to fight calamities. It is pertinent to note here that foreign aid here pertains to other sovereign nations announcing a relief package for India.
For example, after the Tsunami of 2004, Manmohan Singh had not only refused aid for India but Instead, handed over cheques for $25 million to Sri Lanka, $1 million to Indonesia and $500,000 to Thailand for relief and rehabilitation.
After the Caribbean country of Haiti was hit with a disastrous earthquake in 2010, India had also donated $5 million towards the country’s reconstruction.
In 2013 when floods ravaged Uttarakhand, the then US secretary of state John Kerry had announced a $150,000 aid to India. At that time, the Congress-led central government had turned down Kerry’s offer and also aid from other foreign countries. A Telegraph report from 2013 said, “India has made it clear to both the US and Japan, which offered $200,000 towards Uttarakhand relief, that it will not accept the aid and that any funding must be given to NGOs of the foreign governments’ choice”.
Post the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, the then external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said, “As a general policy in case of rescue and relief operations, we have followed the practice that we have adequate ability to respond to emergency requirements.”
It is thus evident that Shashi Tharoor’s propaganda is nothing but a wilful lie to score political points instead of focusing on fighting a common enemy – the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic.
As for Suhasini Haider allegation that India has decided to accept foreign aid even though it refused to do so after the Kerala flood, it is a worse lie than the one peddled by Shashi Tharoor in response since Suhasini claims to cover the Diplomatic Affairs beat. She not only completely ignored the difference between a foreign country offering aid to India and individuals making contributions, but also chose to hide a vital fact.
In 2018, after the Kerala flood, the Ministry of External Affairs had released a press-briefing regarding the issue of accepting foreign aid.
MEA press release from 2018 post the Kerala flood
In the press release from 2018, it is clearly mentioned that while in accordance with the policy set by India, the aid from foreign governments will not be accepted, “Contributions to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund from NRIs, PIOs and international entities such as foundations would, however, be welcome”.
It is thus evident that accepting contributions from individuals and organisations based outside India is not a “new policy” that has been devised by the GOI in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, but it was also a policy that was in place during the Kerala floods.
Another question that was raised by Suhasini Haider and several others was the need to set up a separate fund when the PMNRF already exists.
Some important questions about the new PMCares Fund. Why not deploy the PMNRF, which has a balance of 3800cr? https://t.co/0wNWYBpZfx
It is rather tragic that an alleged journalist of Haider’s standing misses simple explanation perhaps due to the spectacles of hate that she seems to have donned. The PMNRF is for any natural calamity and disaster which includes aid that might be needed by specific states. The PM CARES Fund focuses on the fight against COVID-19 which affects the entire nation. It, therefore, makes sense because the people making the contributions would be far more open to the fight against a national enemy. In fact, it is pertinent to note here that Suhasini Haider’s favourite country, Pakistan, has also set up a similar fund to fight the menace of the Coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, Suhasini, who jumps at the first opportunity to hail any effort by the failing state has not commented on that yet.
In the face of the pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives across the globe, it is unthinkable that certain elements have resorted to spreading blatant misinformation without doing their due diligence about the subject. What is even more tragic is that such fake news and misinformation is coming from the very source that is meant to educate the masses and dispel rumours. However, one is hardly surprised that the media has turned itself into the propaganda arms of the Congress and is playing the role of the disruptive opposition party just as well as the Congress.
Islamists on TikTok have ‘welcomed’ the Chinese coronavirus to India. In videos posted by Islamists on the page, one can see them saying, “Welcome to India, coronavirus. To the ones who were asking for our NRC, my God (Allah)’s NRC is now being implemented. Now only He will decide who will stay and who will go.”
The National Register for Citizens is a register of all Indians irrespective of religion whose creation is mandated by the 2003 Amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. While the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in December 2019, the NRC is not yet prescribed by the ministry even in draft from. However, the propagandists have used it to fear-monger to claim that the NRC will exclude Muslims of India and hence there have been widespread protests across India, many of which have turned violent.
Lies are also spread about Tablighi Jamaat. Some videos are going viral which claim that none of the Jamaati at Markaz in Nizamuddin were tested positive for coronavirus.
In addition to these videos, there is another video doing rounds that shows a Muslim man taking a bunch of currency notes and using them to lick his tongue and wiping his nose with them. He says that the coronavirus has no treatment because it is sent by ‘Allah’, implying that he is going to pass those currency notes around, to spread the disease.
Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin’s Markaz has emerged as the latest hot spot for coronavirus spread in India. As many as 1/3rd of total positive cases could be traced to the markaz. The Jamaat chief Maulana Saad had mocked government orders of avoiding huge gatherings and insisted that people visit the mosques. He has been absconding since March 28. Over 2100 attendees including foreign Islamic preachers were found in the Markaz while hundreds others had already reached other parts of the country. Many of these have tested positive.
The stalemate at the Kerala-Karnataka border at Kasaragod continued on Thursday after Karnataka has reportedly refused to follow the orders of Kerala High Court to remove the blockade on National Highway 66.
On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court had ordered the centre to remove the blockade on National Highway 66 at the Kerala-Karnataka boarder. The High Court intervention came after a petition was filed by the Kerala High Court Advocates Association seeking the removal of the blockade erected by Karnataka.
The Kerala High Court had said that this was not an appropriate time to impose such restrictions while directing to open the borders.
However, the Karnataka has held its position to not to open the borders at Kasargod, as Muslim majority North Kerala district has been the epicentre of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic in the southern part of the country.
Karnataka had closed this border on March 21 fearing the spread of the COVID-19 virus from Kasaragod district in Kerala where infections had erupted last week. Karnataka had ignored requests from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to open the border for people in Kasaragod who need urgent medical help at the nearest hospitals Mangaluru and Manipal. Kerala often depends on Karnataka for health resources because of the state’s abysmal health care facilities.
The Karnataka government said it could not overlook the fears of people on its side of the border about a potential spread of the virus if the border is kept open. The Dakshina Kannada district police had deployed an earthmover and dumped boulders to block the national highway that connects Kerala.
Reportedly, the Karnataka government has also decided to move to Supreme Court against the Kerala High Court verdict to open the borders at Kasargod. Karnataka has contended that it was not bound to act on an order issued by the Kerala High Court order.
A three-day-old baby along with his 26-year old mother has been tested positive of the novel coronavirus. It is alleged that they had contracted the virus after they were allotted a bed vacated by a COVID-19 patient. The father of the baby who is a manager at a restaurant is also quarantined at the Kasturba hospital in Mumbai.
As per an India Today report, mother-baby duo was shifted from Chembur hospital to Kurla Bhabha Hospital, and then again to Kasturba Hospital which is treating 120 COVID-19 patients as of now as the nodal centre for COVID-19.
The family of the patients has alleged that they were made aware of the lapse when the doctor called and asked them to get tested for COVID-19. They alleged that no staff attended them in Chembur hospital and later they were shifted to Kasturba hospital.
As per reports, the father of the newborn had asked for a private room for his wife’s delivery due to fear of the ongoing pandemic. The father alleged that the baby and mother were told to shift to another room within two hours of delivery by the hospital staff without giving a reason for the shift. He said that the hospital didn’t inform him that they have admitted a COVID-19 patient in the same room where his wife delivered a baby boy.
Father said, “This is clearly negligence. They told me about the corona patient later and within seconds of hearing it, we vacated that room. But, by then, my wife was infected.”
As per the Kasturba hospital administration, the mother-son duo is currently undergoing treatment and both of them are stable.
The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases across India were linked to the gathering. Now in another big revelation, the Tablighi Jamaat members’ visit to the Shaheen Bagh Anti-CAA protest site has come under scanner, after one of the Nizamuddin Markaz attendees, who was tested positive for coronavirus, visited the protest venue.
According to the sources, there is credible information that a person who was part of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation and who is tested COVID-19 positive and currently being treated in Andaman and Nicobar Island was a part of the delegation that visited Shaheen Bagh in Delhi where Muslims had been protesting against the CAA since December 15. It is being suspected that this Andaman and Nicobar resident might have infected the other protesters too.
This member of Tablighi Jamaat has told the investigating agencies that he had visited Shaheen Bagh on March 18. At present, he has been admitted to the hospital in Andaman after he developed symptoms of coronavirus. This revelation has raised the suspicion that other people from Tablighi Jamaat also may have joined the Shaheen Bagh protests, increasing the possibility of spreading the infection.
Moreover, officials privy to the development have also confirmed that the people accompanying the patient have claimed that the patient, currently undergoing treatment, had visited the protest site at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. However, the statement of the patient has not been recorded yet, since he is currently in isolation and cannot be visited.
This patient has now emerged as the key link between Tablighi Jamaat members and Shaheen Bagh protesters and now authorities are fearing that thousands sitting in protest at Shaheen Bagh might have come in contact with other Tablighi Jamaat members as well who have tested positive for the infection.
This revelation will bring in more trouble for the authorities, who are already striving to deal with the havoc proliferated across India because of the recent Islamic congregation, organised in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area.
The Tablighi Jamaat congregation had been attended by thousands of people across India, flouting social distancing norms laid down by the government. Dozens of cases across the nation, some from far-flung areas like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, have now been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat event, making it India’s super-spreader’. Assam had gone from 0 to 16 positive cases within one day, all of whom were Tablighi attendees.
Three days after being ‘untraceable’, Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad has released an audio recording, presumably shot in a studio without anyone coughing in the audience, appealing to attendees to follow authorities and cooperate with the doctors.
It is imperative to note here that Maulana Saad has been absconding since March 28 and is the police is currently looking for him. This audio clip of Saad is released when he is into hiding. In the audio released, Maulana Saad can be heard saying that following the orders of the doctors and authorities is not against ‘Sharia’. He further reiterates that it is everyone’s responsibility to follow the instructions of the doctors and authorities. “Following the law and doctors is our basic rule. “Following orders of the doctor is well within Sharia,” he says.
He further asks the Muslims to take the name of Allah and pray. “Instead of worrying about the disease, say the name of Allah,” he says.
Earlier, during the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, in a room full of coughing participants, Maulana Saad was heard instigating the Muslims present there to defy lockdown and gather at mosques as it is the time to increase mosques. Mocking the government’s call to close mosques and religious places amidst Chinese coronavirus outbreak, Maulana Saad had called the contagion a ‘conspiracy’ to instil fear amongst Muslims and keep them from mosques.
The Delhi Police on Wednesday evacuated as many as 2,100 Muslims who were living inside the Nizamuddin Markez, many of whom were foreign nationals. The Islamic preachers had gathered for the three-day event in March. Dozens of coronavirus positive cases across country could be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat. While some have been traced, many are untraceable. Maulana Saad, himself, has been absconding. As many as one-third of total coronavirus positive cases in India could be traced back to the Jamaat.
