Anyone who has extramarital sex in Indonesia risks a one-year prison sentence. Despite protests and criticism, the parliament of the Southeast Asian island state passed a corresponding bill on Tuesday.
Human rights activists had previously urged the House of Representatives not to approve the new rules because they violate civil rights in the largest Islamic country in the world. The new legislation is expected to come into force in 2025.
Hundreds of people took to the streets
“Indonesia wants to go down the path of law-breaking catastrophe by criminalizing extramarital sex,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, warned on Twitter a few days ago.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in several Indonesian cities on Monday to protest against the project. In 2019 there was already a draft law for a new code of conduct, which was initially postponed due to mass protests.
Couples are no longer allowed to live together before marriage
Not only sex between unmarried people is prohibited: according to the law, couples are no longer allowed to live together before marriage. Violation is punishable by six months imprisonment. However, the police can only investigate if a family member files a report. This point is seen as a compromise between Liberals and Conservatives in Parliament. Tourists on the holiday island of Bali, for example, should therefore hardly be affected by the law.
So far, sex outside marriage and homosexual relationships have not been considered criminal offenses in Indonesia, but both have long been considered taboo in the conservative country. Islamic sharia law has only been introduced in Aceh province on the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra. Sex outside marriage is punishable by up to 100 lashes. (SDA)