Indonesia Parliament Approves Ban On Sex Before Marriage

Indonesia Parliament Approves Ban On Sex Before Marriage

by Victor Ndubuisi
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The Indonesian parliament adopted legislation on Tuesday that would make sex outside of marriage illegal, in what critics called a major setback for human rights in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy house speaker, banged the gavel and shouted “legal” as the new criminal code was supported by all nine parties in a significant revamp of the legal system.

For decades, there has been discussion about revising Indonesia’s penal code, which dates back to the Dutch colonial era.

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Rights groups had criticized the revisions, claiming that they would lead to a crackdown on civil liberties and political freedoms, as well as a shift toward fundamentalism in Muslim-majority Indonesia, where secularism is protected in the constitution.

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“We have tried our best to accommodate the important issues and different opinions which were debated,” Yasonna Laoly, Minister of Law and Human Rights, told parliament.

“However, 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.”

The new criminal law will be implemented in three years, according to a provision in the legislation, which still needs to be signed by the president.

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Some of the most contentious sections in the newly enacted legislation criminalize extramarital sex as well as unmarried couples cohabiting.

According to the text obtained by Newsmen, illegal cohabitation will result in a maximum sentence of six months in prison, while sex outside of marriage will result in a year in prison.

 

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