When a Malaysian woman succeeds, the bigots will use emotional blackmail to belittle her efforts and try to put her down.

Perhaps, they are envious of her achievements. It matters little that the woman is a Malay or a non-Malay.

So, whilst the nation rejoices in the woman’s success, the conservatives in our society will attack her appearance as well as her dress code, and belittle her victory.

More often than not, they dismiss her success because she does not wear the tudung, or that as a child, she prefers to wear shorts and T-shirts, instead of skirts, because shorts are more comfortable.

This is what happened last week to the Malaysian mixed doubles champion 24-year-old Toh Ee Wei.

On August 31, the duo of Toh and Chen Tang Jie won gold at the Badminton BWF World Championships in Paris, France.

The Malaysian Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia published a story in which it described Toh as a “tomboy turned world champion.”

When this description outraged the public, the paper changed “tomboy” to “gadis lasak” (rough girl).

They probably thought that calling Toh a “gadis lasak” was less damaging.

It is not!

The paper could have written about her determination, her perseverance, her courage, and the sacrifices she would have made from childhood, to get to the top of her sport.

Athletes would have dedicated hours of their time to hone their skills.

They would have stuck to a strict regime of waking up early to be at the gym and the badminton court, to practice.

Unlike most people, they would not be going to the cinema or spending time partying or doing fun things that most young adults would have done.

With their eye on success, they would have to maintain a strict diet, and go to bed early.

When training or having to travel for tournaments, they may have to forego family reunions, and get togethers, or special occasions with friends.

Utusan Malaysia could have related her pride and joy at representing Malaysia when she and her partner clinched the title, especially as their victory on Merdeka Day 2025 was all the more sweeter.

However, Toh is not the first Malaysian woman to have been criticized for her appearance.

In June 2015, 21-year-old gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi won six medals, including two gold, at the Southeast Asia Games in Singapore.

As expected, the religious bigots attacked her for wearing leotards instead of celebrating her success at winning several medals for Malaysia.

Her withering remark, that “empty tin cans make the most noise” to the religious bigots who attacked her for wearing a leotard, won her even more praise.

The then Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, turned on her critics and told them to leave her alone.

The insecure men’s best defense is violence and sexual assaults, instead of intelligent discourse.

A few months later in September 2015, 18-year-old Hajar Nur Asyiqin, a former student of SMK Abdul Rahman Talib in Kuantan, Pahang, who completed her A-Levels at Tuanku Ja’afar College in Mantin, Negri Sembilan, scored 9A+s in her SPM.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) awarded her a scholarship to read Chemistry at the University of Oxford.

Instead of praising Hajar Nur for her success, her hard work, her dedication to her studies and her discipline, the religious bigots decided to attack her dress code.

They belittled her success, because she did not wear the tudung. When she ignored the bigots, they attacked her on Facebook. They said that her dad would bear her sins for not “covering her aurat.”

Another person on social media wanted the scholarship terms to include a mandatory wearing of the tudung.

Someone called Mohd Khairudzaman Bahaudin was begrudging in his praise and said “All right, congratulations, Allah hates His servants who do not cover their aurat. We succeed not because we’re clever.”

Most women who were criticized for not covering their aurat have mostly been Malay.

The non-Malay women who were criticized were those who visited government departments.

Although none were dressed in short skirts or dresses, these were never good enough for the bigots.

We did wonder then, when the religious bigots would turn their ire on high profile non-Malay women, like they have done to the badminton champion, Toh.

In 2014, Le Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest award, was conferred upon Zainah Anwar, the co-founder of Sisters-in-Islam (SIS), in recognition of her services in defending the rights of women.

The French Ambassador said, “By helping Muslim women, Zainah in turn has helped all women around the world.”

Despite the recognition, many conservative Muslims and PAS have failed to appreciate the good work of SIS.

It appears that many Malay men feel threatened by successful and vocal Malay women.

The late G25’s Noor Farida Ariffin, a former lawyer and ambassador, received a rape threat for her remarks about the moral police and invasion of privacy.

Aisyah Tajuddin, a journalist with independent radio station BFM, who mocked hudud law, also received death and rape threats.

The insecure men’s best defense is violence and sexual assaults, instead of intelligent discourse.

Are we to blame the Malay upbringing, and the environment in which they are brought up for their narrow-minded view of the world.

The conservative Malay world revolves around Malay matters and the after-life.

When will they realize that donning the tudung does not make one a better Muslim?

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)