There is so much advice coming from all directions during this COVID-19 pandemic, and most of it is good advice. Some of it is very, very bad advice that has gotten people killed, but for the most part governments are doing their best to get useful information out there. Not the Malaysian government though, they’re currently being rightfully dragged for sending out some advice for women in quarantine that includes gems like ‘don’t nag’ and ‘wear make up’.
The Ministry of Women and Family Development put out a series of posters that were aimed at women. The idea was that it would help them keep a happy household and avoid arguing with their husbands while everybody is stuck inside together.
One of the posters shows a man sitting on a couch, and tells women that they need to not be “sarcastic” if they need help with chores.
Other advice includes avoid nagging your husband and instead use humour to get him to do things. The suggested method of humour was to imitate the voice of Doraemon, a blue cartoon robot cat. That sounds something like this.
The posters also suggested that women dress up and wear makeup. Cause, you know, that will absolutely help.
You won’t exactly be shocked to find out that the reaction was… not great. They got dragged so hard in fact, that the Government has already put out an official apology.
“We apologise if some of the tips we shared were inappropriate and touched on the sensitivities of some parties,” the Malaysian government posted before immediately removing all the posters with advice for women.
There is a genuine need for a campaign about how to cope when we’re all cramped in together with no way out. Divorces and domestic violence cases are spiking as people quarantine together, and there’s no way in hell that speaking like a cartoon cat is going to fix that.
If you or someone you know is struggling with issues related to domestic violence, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT for support services.