A women's group is creating worldwide furore by vying to teach wives how to "keep their spouses happy in the bedroom."
The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) is already established in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, and hopes to open London, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt chapters in the near future.
The OWC's mission statement, as it were, claims that a multitude of social problems -- from prostitution, domestic violence, human trafficking to abandoned babies -- can be curbed if only wives would learn to be sexually submissive to their husbands.
Becoming "a first-class prostitute" to your hubby, according to OWC Vice-president, Rohaya Mohamad, is the path to righteousness and social order.
"In Islam, if the husband wants sex and the wife is not in the mood, she has to give in to him," said the Singapore club's co-founder Darlan Zaini. "If not, the angels will curse her. This is not good for the family."
An angel in the kitchen, a demon in the sack. If you think you're in the middle of some Middle Ages nightmare, you're not alone.
"What the club signifies is a regression, a moving backwards, in [what] women and other progressive men – Muslim and non-Muslim – are trying to do for gender equality here in Singapore," said Aware (the Association of Women for Action and Research) vice president, Halijah Mohamed.
Fauziah Ariffin, the Malaysian chapter's national director, clarified her position: "When we said that husbands should treat their wives like first-class prostitutes, we are talking about first-class elite types, not street hooker types … ordinary prostitutes can only provide good sex, but not love and affection, which only a wife can provide."
Oh well, that's a relief, then.
But with members already numbering some 1,000 worldwide, the controversy surrounding OWC obviously isn't hurting its popularity. And South-east Asian men aren't exactly complaining, either.
Watching TV at night can lead to sleep disturbances in preschoolers, a new study revealed. It may seem like stating the obvious, but of the 617 youngsters studied, those who watched TV after 7pm were most likely to experience sleep trouble.
The government-funded study, which was published in Pediatrics, supports current recommendations by The American Academy of Pediatrics about limiting screen time -- to none for children under two, and no more than two hours per day for older kids.
Contrary to what many parents believe, night time television does not have a lulling effect. Quite the opposite. The Academy is also adamant that kids shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms, although at least one in four U.S. preschoolers do and end up watching more TV as a result.
Nearly one in five of the children studied reported sleep problems most days of the week, from difficulty falling asleep, to awakening throughout the night, nightmares, and daytime drowsiness.
Interestingly, TV was the main source of screen time cited, rather than computers or video games.
Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a sleep disorders specialist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital and author of several books on healthy sleep habits, insists that young children sleep best when there are calming night time rituals in place, including bedtime stories and cuddles with parents.
He further claimed that lack of sleep is "as dangerous as iron deficiency" and can lead to "behaviour difficulties, memory problems and academic struggles."
No doubt, the same can also be said of moms and dads. While it's unrealistic to ban all screen time, you may want to think about switching off the tube long before you hit the hay. After all, a happy house is a well-rested house.
Picture it: You've splashed out on a first-class ticket on a far flung romantic getaway. Or you have a meeting first thing after a red-eye. The hefty price tag means more peace, more leg room (and more champers, too). Then a baby in the next row starts wailing.
When it comes to air travel, let's face it, we're all sitting ducks. We're all in cramped quarters together, and we do our best to get along. So where do individual rights come into play, if at all?
Isn't it the businessman's right to get a bit of shut-eye before the big meeting? And the honeymooners? What about the mom with the wailing infant? Doesn't she deserve a bit of pampering on a long haul to visit family overseas, assuming she can afford to pay the premium?
The bottom line: Malaysian Airlines doesn't think so. They are the first -- but probably not the last -- airline to implement a 'no babies' policy. (Apparently Virgin Atlantic and British Airways both toyed with the idea of going baby-free but ultimately opted against it.)
So if you are willing to fork out on one of their Boeing 747-400 flights, you can bet there won't be any of those pesky screaming, crying, or giggling infants seated next to you. Elitist travel just got more elitist. And discriminatory?
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