British TV channel accused of encouraging marital rape

LONDON - A TV channel in Britain has been accused of encouraging marital rape after a guest said in a programme that “a woman cannot refuse her husbands relations”, a media report said.

Daily Express reported that the nation’s leading Muslim TV channel was Thursday night accused of encouraging “marital rape” and promoting hatred and intolerance.

Ofcom, which is a broadcasting watchdog, Thursday began a probe after being handed a report by think tank Quilliam on the London-based Islam Channel.

The report alleged the channel’s presenters and guests regularly make derogatory statements about women and their role in society.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “This report raises some serious allegations. We will investigate where our rules may have been broken.”

In a programme, a guest reportedly said that Muslim women cannot refuse their husbands sexual advances, adding: The idea that a woman cannot refuse her husbands relations - this is not strange to a Muslim because it is part of maintaining that strong marriage.

The concept of a womans individual choice was something which is part of the Western culture, but not Islam, the guest was quoted as saying.

A presenter observed the main sources of problems facing modern society were caused by women.

Viewers were also told that the majority of the people in hell will be women as they are the cause of calamities, hardship and suffering.

A spokesperson for the Islam Channel said it promotes the role of women in society and that is why almost half of those working at Islam Channel are women.

The channel encourages the Muslim community to take an active role in civic society and to take part in the social and democratic process. We strongly reject all forms of extremism. We condemn unreservedly all forms of violence and the killing of innocent people regardless of their faith and ethnicity.