‘Corona is like your wife’: Indonesia Minister underfire over Corona Joke

By Adekunle Badmus

The Security Minister of Indonesia Mohammad Mahfud MD is under fire after he compared the deadly coronavirus to a wife.

Soon after his statement, several social media users and women groups slammed the apparent “joke” by the minister.

According to an international media report, Mahfud made the comments during an online address to a local University earlier this week.

The Indonesian Minister started by asking if the world is going to be holed up forever.

He then added that people have to adjust to the situation while still paying attention to their health.

It was this moment when he started discussing a meme he received from one of his colleagues. He said, “Corona is like your wife. Initially, you tried to control it, then you realise that you can’t. Then you learn to live it”.

As per reports, the critics slammed the remarks and called it sexist. They also reportedly said that ‘joke’ underscored Jakarta’s weak response to the virus outbreak.

While speaking to an international media outlet, Women’s Solidarity group chief Dinda Nisa Yura said that the statement by the minister not only reflects the superficial power of the government to solve the COVID-19 pandemic problem but also shows the ‘sexist and misogynistic’ mindset of public officials.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is reportedly deploying around 340,000 troops to clamp down on rampant social distancing violations as COVID-19 infections surge in the country. The government is also planning to reopen businesses next week as the authorities fear a collapse in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

According to Johns Hopkins University tally, the country currently has more than 24,000 confirmed cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 1,496 lives.

Several researchers also believe that the true number of virus fatalities is more as the country of more than 260 million has some of the lowest testing rates in the world.