Malaysian clerics forbid tomboys

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's main body of Islamic clerics has issued an edict banning tomboys in the Muslim-majority country, ruling that girls who act like boys violate the tenets of Islam, an official said yesterday.

During a meeting Thursday in northern Malaysia, the National Fatwa Council forbade the practice of girls behaving or dressing like boys, said Harussani Idris Zakaria, the mufti of northern Perak state, who attended the gathering.

Harussani said an increasing number of Malaysian girls behave like tomboys, and that some of them engage in homosexuality. Homosexuality is not explicitly banned in Malaysia, but it is considered illegal under a law that prohibits sex acts "against the order of nature."

Harussani said the council's ruling was not legally binding but he called the actions of tomboys immoral. "It doesn't matter if it's a law or not. When it's wrong, it's wrong. It is a sin," Harussani said. "Tomboy [behavior] is forbidden in Islam."

Under the edict, girls are forbidden from wearing short hair and dressing, walking, and acting like boys, Harussani said. Boys also should not act like girls, he said.

Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said the ruling was prompted by recent cases of young women behaving like men and practicing homosexuality. He did not elaborate.

ASSOCIATED PRESS