A female Geelong MP has condemned a video of Muslim women describing how male Muslims can hit their wives.
Federal Liberal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson said she was “extremely concerned” about the video featuring a Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia panel.
In the Facebook video a panellist says men should hit wives in a “managed way” with a short stick, a twisted scarf or a scrap of fabric. Another panellist says it “should be done in such a way as not to cause harm or pain. It’s a symbolic act.”
“As chair of a federal parliamentary inquiry into family violence law reform I wish to make it clear that any form of assault of a spouse by a husband or wife is strictly against the law in Australia,” Ms Henderson said.
“I know that many people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds suffer family violence at their hands of a spouse.
“These sorts of practices as described in the video are not only repugnant but criminal.
“One in six Australian women has experienced violence from a current or former partner. More than one woman on average dies in a family violence incident in Australia every week.”
Ms Henderson wore a hijab when she visited Geelong’s mosque in 2015 with Labor counterpart Richard Marles to celebrate the birthdays of the Prophet Mohammad and Jesus Christ on 24 and 25 December respectively.
