M. Taufiqurrahman and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta/Bandung – Prominent women activists threw their weight over the weekend behind the government's plan to expand the ban on polygamy. The activists suggested that the government make polygamy a crime punishable by law.

Activist Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace said that a law that criminalized polygamy was used in some countries as a means to deter men from taking more than one wife. "In Tunisia and Morocco, two countries with substantial Muslim populations, laws against polygamy have been effective in preventing men from being polygamous. Why don't we apply it here in Indonesia, a non-theocratic state?" Musdah told a news conference Saturday in Jakarta.

She said religious leaders in the country had wrongly interpreted Islamic teachings on polygamy. She criticized polygamous clerics who argue that they are following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad. "But the prophet was at his most happiest when he was married to his first wife Hadija for 25 years, and his subsequent marriage was aimed at protecting women," she said.

Musdah also said that most of passages in the Koran concerning polygamy, in fact prohibited it.

Feminist Gadis Arivia of the Women's Journal Foundation said that the 1974 Marriage Law had shown a bias toward women as it allowed men to be polygamous on the condition that wife was infertile, handicapped or chronically ill.

"This is a manifestation of a betrayal of women's rights, because if a woman were to suffer from any of the three conditions, she should be given more care by the husband instead of being divorced," Gadis said.

Musdah and Gadis were commenting on the government's plan to extend its ban on polygamy for civil servants to cover all officials working for the state, including legislators and soldiers.

There has also been talk of extending the ban to cover employees of private companies. But there are no plans to impose the ban on the public at large.

The plan has received strong support from progressive Muslims but has met strong opposition from religious conservatives who argue that polygamy is allowed by Islam and a ban on the practice would only encourage adultery.

Some legislators has argued that banning polygamy would encourage more men to visit prostitutes or resort to extramarital sex.

The polygamy issue resurfaced recently when popular cleric Abdullah "Aa Gym" Gymnastiar announced last week that he had taken a younger and better-looking second wife.

Maria Ulfah Anshori of Nahdlatul Ulama said that polygamy was only possible because of the unequal relationship between men and women.

"A man always marries a second wife who is economically, socially and politically weaker than he is. In NU, there has never been a case in which an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) leader weds a woman leader of the pesantren," she said.

In Bandung, thousands of supporters of the Reformed Democratic Party (PDP) also voiced support for the government's move to restrict polygamy.

In a rally to celebrate the party's first anniversary Saturday, they condemned the second marriage of Aa Gym, saying it was a form of harassment of women and set a bad example for the Muslim community.

"As a Muslim woman, I am very disappointed with the second marriage which has damaged Islamic culture and upset women's dignity. We won't be second wives. With full support from women, PDP should work hard to phase out polygamy in the country," said rallier Hetty Kushariadi.

At the event women cried out "No" to Aa Gym and "Yes" to the government's move to widen the polygamy ban to all state officials.