De-colonising public spaces in Malaysia. Dating in Kuala Lumpur

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020-02

Authors

Krzysztof Nawratek (Author) Other; Asma Mehan (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Cultural Geographies

Vol. 27 No. 4

Pages: 615-629

ISSN: 1474-4740

Publisher: SAGE

Indexing

ISI Web of Science

Scopus

Crossref

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Social sciences ; Humanities

Other information

DOI: 10.1177/1474474020909457

Abstract (EN): This article discusses the places and practices of young heterosexual Malaysian Muslims dating in non-private urban spaces. It is based on research conducted in Kuala Lumpur (KL) in two consecutive summers 2016 and 2017. Malaysian law (Khalwat law) does not allow for two unrelated people (where at least one of them is Muslim) of opposite sexes to be within ‘suspicious proximity’ of one another in public. This law significantly influences behaviors and activities in urban spaces in KL. In addition to the legal framework, the beliefs of Malaysian mMuslimssignificantly influence the way they perceive space and how they behave in the city. The article discusses the empirical theme, beginning with the participants’ narratives of their engagement with the dominant sexual and gender order in non-private spaces of KL. Utilizing questionnaires, interviews ,and observations, this paper draws upon a qualitative research project and questions the analytical usefulness of the notion of public space (as a Western construct) in the context of an Islamic, postcolonial, tropical, global city.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15