Uphill battle for fathers to gain custody of children

THE battle between M. Indira Gandhi and her ex-husband, Muhammad Riduan, for custody of their three children has opened many questions in our legal system.

Indira was seen as David taking on Goliath. This framing has allowed her to receive strong support from organisations such the Bar Council, human rights and women’s rights organisations. Feminists even created tendentious documentaries and articles to sell her story.

However, nothing much was said or done to champion Muhammad Riduan except by a few religious organisations.

Muhammad Riduan is a man. He is the father of the three children. Like all fathers, he too cares about his three children. However, he has been depicted as a kidnapper of his child.

Fighting for child custody is often an ugly battle. Movies such as Not Without My Daughter have been successfully used by feminists to plant the propaganda that women are fighters and men and the state are abusers.

Indira has been awarded custody of all her three children. Not one of them was given to the father. Despite the propaganda of equal rights, women continue to enjoy full custody of their children due to the bigoted view that they are the better caretakers. However, able-bodied women continue to demand alimony from their former husbands despite living in the 21st century.

Muhammad Riduan is now seen as a fugitive for keeping his youngest daughter with him. Fathers are not just deprived of their rights to care for their children but are now hunted down for wanting to care for them. This is the state of fatherhood under the propaganda of feminism and human rightism.

Having custody has given former wives the space to instil hate among the children toward their fathers. This space is later used at the age of 18 to win over the children for good.

For those men cheering for Indira, be aware that one day you too might suffer her ex-husband’s plight. Perhaps then you would realise the uphill battle to fight for your own flesh and blood.

Muhammad Riduan should have taken this battle further to fight for his last daughter. She is his flesh and blood. After losing his two older kids, he should resist the act of rewarding her the last child. With little support from any secu- lar organisations and men’s rights groups, he has huge fights ahead of him. However, this fight is crucial to secure his own flesh and blood. His battle is crucial for the rights of all fathers in Malaysia. A CONCERNED MAN Penang