Indonesia bans extramarital sex

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06th Dec, 2022. 08:13 pm
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A new criminal code that curbs political liberties and outlaws extramarital sex has been approved by Indonesia’s parliament.
Unmarried couples who are found having sex face up to a year in jail.
They are also forbidden from cohabitating, a crime punishable by up to six months in prison.

A new criminal code that curbs political liberties and outlaws extramarital sex has been approved by Indonesia’s parliament.

According to the new legislation, which go into force in three years, having sex outside of marriage might result in a jail sentence of up to a year.

The numerous adjustments follow a growth in religious conservatism in the nation with a majority of Muslims.

The laws are criticized as a “disaster” for human rights and as a possible hindrance to travel and investment.

This week, a number of mostly young people’s groups demonstrated against the legislation in front of the Jakarta parliament. It is anticipated that the new laws will face legal challenges.

Both residents and foreigners living in Indonesia or travelling to vacation spots like Bali must abide by them. According to the legislation, unmarried couples who are found having sex face up to a year in jail.

They are also forbidden from cohabitating, a crime punishable by up to six months in jail. Adultery is a crime for which people are subject to incarceration.

In order for prosecutions to begin, a complaint must be made by the children, parents, or spouse of the accused couple, according to supporters of the legislation.

Ajeng, a 28-year-old Muslim woman who lives in Depok, West Java, claimed that because she has been cohabitating with her lover for the past five years, she is now in danger.

“With the new law, both of us can go to jail if one of the family decides to make a police report,” she told Media.

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“What if there’s one family member who has a problem with me and decides to send me to jail?

“I think living together or having sex outside of marriage is not a crime. In my religion, it’s considered a sin. But I don’t think the criminal code should be based on a certain religion.”

She said she had joined the nationwide protests in 2019 when the law had first been broached. She took the sign: “For the right to cuddle, I took to the streets.”

However, the new code of over 600 articles was unanimously approved by parliament on Tuesday.

Rights organizations claim that the new rules disproportionately harm women, LGBT people, and racial minorities.

Many businesses had also opposed the law, claiming that it impeded investment and tourism. However, politicians have praised the revision of regulations that date back to Dutch colonial control.

“It is time for us to make a historical decision on the penal code amendment and to leave the colonial criminal code we inherited behind,” law minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament.

Numerous new provisions in the new legislation criminalize immorality and blasphemy while limiting freedom of speech in politics and religion.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson told Media it was a “huge setback for a country that has tried to portray itself as a modern Muslim democracy”.

The group’s Jakarta-based researcher, Andreas Harsano, said there were millions of couples in Indonesia without marriage certificates “especially among Indigenous peoples or Muslims in rural areas” who had married in specific religious ceremonies.

“These people will be theoretically breaking the law as living together could be punished up to six months in prison,” he told Media.

Research from Gulf states, where comparable regulations regarding sex and relationships exist, further demonstrated that women were penalized and targeted by such morality laws more than men.

The legislation currently has six blasphemy laws, including one for apostasy, which is the rejection of a religion. For the first time since gaining independence, Indonesia will outlaw persuading people to reject their religion.

Additionally, new defamation laws make it unlawful to disparage the president or state ideology.

However, lawmakers claimed that they had expanded protections for free speech and “public interest” protests.

Indonesia bans extramarital sex

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