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Divorce rates in Malaysia doubled between 2002 and 2009 and a group of Malaysian Muslim women plan to promote marital happiness and curtail the country’s divorce rate by forming a group known as The Obedient Wife Club. The club’s founders have stated that issues such as domestic abuse and infidelity occur because “wives don’t obey or satisfy their husbands,” further stating that wives should learn to “obey, serve and entertain their husbands” by greeting them with “alluring smiles and sexy clothes”. Women’s rights groups and politicians have reacted angrily to comments made by the group, stating that any claims that a wife’s ability to obey and sexually satisfy her husband are the only causes of matrimonial conflict are gross simplifications and that they are insulting to wives and husbands alike. Malaysia’s minister for women, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, was asked whether Muslim woman in Malaysia had any rights during a recent visit to Kazakhstan and has stated that The Obedient Wife Club have sullied the reputation of both Malaysia and Islam. The group – who formed at the beginning of this month and currently boast over 800 members – have stated that they expected such reactions, but have no intention of slowing their efforts and hope to extend their membership across South East Asia in the coming months. Approximately sixty per cent of the population of Malaysia are followers of Islam; the country’s large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities tend to follow Christian, Hindu and Buddhist faiths.