Saudi cleric tells women they CAN refuse sex with husbands during coronavirus outbreak
A SAUDI cleric has told women it is okay to refuse to have sex with their husbands during the coronavirus outbreak.
Religious scholar Abdullah Muhammad Al-Mutlaq, an adviser at the Saudi royal court, gave the advice while appearing on a live state TV call-in show.
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Al-Mutlaq received a call from a viewer asking if it was a “sin” for her to refuse her husband sex during the pandemic lockdown.
The viewer appeared to be fearful of a twisted interpretation of Islamic law peddled by some ultraconservative scholars that wives have to submit to their husbands.
Al-Mutlaq, a member of the kingdom’s Council of Senior Scholars, gave a forward-thinking response as he said she was well within her rights to kick him out of bed.
The cleric has previously intervened to go against extreme traditionalist teachings as Saudi Arabia continues to make efforts to modernise and reform.
Saudi Arabia however is hit by coronavirus - like the rest of the world - with more than 2,000 confirmed cases and 24 deaths.
Authorities have a lockdown in place, and the Saudi government have deployed religious clerics in an attempt to urge people to take precautions to beat coronavirus.
Al-Mutlaq appeared on TV to answer questions about the pandemic, including the query about a wife’s rights with her husband.
News outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported the viewer asked: “My husband never stays at home and couldn't care less about the measures in place. I'm terrified he'll give me the virus.
“When he asks me to sleep with him, I'm going to refuse because I'm scared for myself and my kids. Am I falling into sin?”
Al-Mutlaq said: “If he isn't listening to you and if he isn't staying at home, you've got no reason to be worried [by rejecting his advances].
“You should avoid him and keep away from him.
"He must self-isolate for 14 days.”
He added: “You are not a sinner at all, you protect yourself.”
The cleric also advised another woman that she could give up her conjugal rights to her husband’s second wife as she was fearful of being infected with Covid-19.
Saudi Arabia has been using its clerics amid the pandemic despite gradually pushing them into the backseat.
MODERNISATION
Videos produced by the state show the Islamic leaders showing people how to wash their hands and highlighting the Muslim duty to preserve life.
Banners offering public health advice have been put up around the kingdom, including one reportedly saying that the prophet Mohammed would cover his face if he sneezed.
Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at the Eurasia Group consultancy, told Bloomberg the kingdom has been so far effective at fighting against the virus.
He said: “The efforts have been based on the science, on policies, on what works and what doesn’t and they want to take credit for that.
“They don’t want clerics to start preaching about how they will pray and how this will save souls.”
As the clerics dole out marital advice to concerned callers, Saudi Arabia has been attempting to modernise its women’s rights policies.
This has included an end of a ban on women driving and lifting elements of the “male guardianship” system.
Male guardianship sees women having the seek permission from men for certain actions - with human rights groups arguing it makes women second class citizens.
Amnesty International report that women are still not properly protected in Saudi Arabia from sexual violence and domestic abuse.
And a number of women’s rights activists remain in prison or facing charges for campaigning for modernisation.
Al-Mutlaq has previously gone against Saudi tradition on matters relating to women, including saying women should not have the wear the abaya, a long robe to hide their bodies.
Speaking in 2018, he said: “More than 90% of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas.
"So we should not force people to wear abayas.”
Saudi women still have to wear the abaya by law - but last year dropped the dress code for foreigners.
Al Mutlaq did however say he still wanted women to dress “modestly”.
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Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has been a driving force for the kingdom’s desire to modernise.
The campaign SaudiVision 2030 wants to reduce the country’s reliance on oil and open up the nation.
However, the nation still executed 184 people last year - the most in six years - including pro-democracy activists.
And during the pandemic, it was reported a man with coronavirus could face the death penalty for spitting on trolleys in a shopping centre.