One of the 25 facts about women around the world written by Kelly of She-Power got my attention.
In parts of Malaya, the women keep harems of men.
What is a harem by the way?
The word harem originated from the following:
– 1634, from Turk
– from Arabic haram “wives and concubines” originally “women’s quarters”
– lit. “something forbidden or kept safe”
– from root of harama “he guarded, forbade”
Harem has other meanings that say “the wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying such a place”, or ” a group of women sexual partners for one man”.
In the Turkish region, it was men who keep harems of women for their sexual pleasure. But hey, in Kelly’s post of facts, it was women who keep harems of men. Totally the opposite!
Is it a bad indication that women in Malaya keep harems of men? Is it demeaning for women? It can be an expression of women power, of freedom. It is maybe an expression that women can also do what men do. Even to the point of having a collection of men for sexual pleasure.
Where on earth is Malaya?
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula that were colonized by the British from the 18th and the 19th until the 20th century. Before the formation of Malayan Union in 1946, the colonies were not placed under a single unified administration. Instead, British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. Malaya was the world’s largest producer of tin and later rubber.
Malayan Union was dissolved and replaced with Federation of Malaya in 1948. It became independent on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, the federation, along with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore formed a larger federation called Malaysia.
Warmstone 