Sex before marriage is banned in Indonesia
2 min read
A new criminal code that forbids having sex outside of marriage and carries a maximum one-year prison sentence was approved by Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday.
The nation already forbids adultery, but the new law, which received backing from all political parties, would extend that prohibition to premarital sex as well. It forbids cohabitation between unmarried couples and would apply to both Indonesians and foreigners.
To give time for implementing rules to be created, the new legislation won’t go into effect for three years.
The country’s reaction to the bill has been conflicted, and on Tuesday there were some demonstrations in Jakarta, the capital.
Legislators defended the long-awaited adoption of the criminal code as a necessary revision to earlier colonial legislation.
The leader of the legislative commission in charge of updating the code, Bambang Wuryanto, stated that the old code was of Dutch heritage and was no longer applicable.
However, a number of publications and law critics have criticised the bill, accusing it of contributing to the deterioration of civil freedoms in the third-largest democracy in the world. Other laws prohibit the use of black magic, insulting the president or state institutions, disseminating ideas contrary to official ideology, and organising unannounced protests.
While the Jakarta Post expressed “grave worries,” daily newspaper Koran Tempo claimed the code had “authoritarian” overtones.
As Indonesia recovers from the effects of COVID-19 and works to recruit more so-called “digital nomads” by providing a more flexible visa, the tourism industry in Indonesia has also expressed concerns about the new rule, fearing that the ban may drive tourists away from its tropical coasts.
“We sincerely regret that the government turned a blind eye. According to Maulana Yusran, deputy head of Indonesia’s tourism industry board, “We have previously voiced our worry to the ministry of tourism about how damaging this law is.
An earlier version of the bill partially toned down the prohibition on extramarital sex so that only specific individuals, like a close relative or spouse, could report such behaviour. This will “defend the institution of marriage and Indonesian values,” according to Albert Aries, a spokesman for Indonesia’s justice ministry, as well as the “privacy of the community.”
2019’s rewrite of the nation’s colonial-era criminal code was scheduled to be passed by the government, but widespread protests prevented it from happening. With President Joko Widodo encouraging parliament to enact the bill this year, ahead of the expected presidential elections for early 2024, lawmakers have now modified some of the restrictions.
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