INTI Gets Schooled By Malaysians After Uploading Sexist Women's Day Post
INTI International University & Colleges' flub on Facebook has created quite a reaction on social media and the private university consequently found themselves in the grasps of angry netizens.
By Hew Lee Yee — 11 Mar 2015, 01:44 PM
On 7 March 2015, INTI International University & Colleges shared a photo on their Facebook page in commemoration of International Women's Day, which seemed more demeaning rather than celebratory of women
Let's just say the post did not sit too well with a lot of people and unleashed an army of angered netizens. A quick look at the comments showed that many did not agree with INTI's move.
So, what was INTI's initial solution? They replied each comment the same way, expressing their regret in causing "confusion and distress" and that the quote by Steve Harvey they used was meant to promote "greater equality".
It didn't help their situation that Steve Harvey is known for being notoriously sexist, homophobic and close-minded, amongst other things
Steve Harvey on why men don’t want smart women:
Well, I mean, you know if a guy is out for one thing, it’s best to go for shallow, unintelligent women. You don’t want to break this news to really bright women. “Hey, I just want to do something to you this evening”...You want to find somebody shallow, really simple unintelligent, that you can run this by and they’ll sit there and go, “Wow, that sounds great.”
However, this also goes beyond the post just being offensive, as a commenter pointed out the blatant plagiarism by using direct quotes from Steve Harvey without proper crediting
The negative backlash from their mishap showed no sign of stopping, and on March 10, INTI replaced the poster with an apology and attempted to redeem themselves with a donation to a women’s refugee camp
The statement by INTI reads:
INTI International University & Colleges apologizes for the distress caused by a recent International Women’s Day post. We have heard the views of the people and the original post has since been removed.
As a gesture of goodwill, we will donate RM10,000 to the UNHCR Refugee Welfare Fund in aid of women refugees in Malaysia.
INTI supports gender equality and does not condone any form of gender bias.
The Refugee Welfare Fund benefits the emergency medical and welfare needs of refugees in Malaysia, particularly in the area of life-saving medical assistance
