Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women has called for a vote of no confidence against political parties that exploit religious issues for their interests.
If in power, such parties tend to promote policies that discriminate against women, National Commission on Violence against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan) chairwoman Kamala Chandrakirana says.
Voters should elect politicians and future leaders who are committed to the pluralist values enshrined in the Constitution, Kamala suggested at a discussion on Monday.
Indonesia's democracy allows discriminatory policies to subsist, which law enforcers and lawmaking bodies have failed to address, and the majority of people have remained silent about, Kamala said.
"We should not vote for 'leaders' who would repeat these same mistakes over the next five years, or even make things worse. "Our future leaders should maintain the rule of law, and uphold pluralism," Kamala said.
"Do not vote for politicians just because of their religious platform – because they may only use this for their short-term political interests."
Discriminatory policies include sharia-inspired bylaws, which are in place in several regional administrations, Kamala said. Such ordinances criminalize violations of religious values at the expense of women, she said.
The policy makers justify such bylaws, as "implementations of religious teachings, to improve faith and to establish Islamic values," Kamala added.
In its monitoring work over the past 10 years, KOMNAS Perempuan has found 154 bylaws issued by 69 regency or municipal administrations in 21 provinces, that have been inspired by Islamic law.
Of this figure, 64 directly impact on women, including bylaws that deprive women of their freedom of expression – by requiring them to wear headscarves while at school or in the workplace.
Among these regional ordinances are the 2002 bylaw issued by Solok municipality, West Sumatra, the 2003 bylaw enacted by Bulukumba regency, South Sulawesi, and the 2005 bylaw in Pesisir Selatan regency, West Sumatra.
The commission also found 38 bylaws violating women's rights to protection and legal certainty, including bylaws that ban prostitution issued by Tangerang, Indramayu, Tasikmalaya and Bantul administrations.
These bylaws stipulate that public order officers (Satpol PP) could take direct action against women who go out at night or who are suspected of being sex workers. The commission found that these bylaws had sparked many cases of wrongful arrest.
Another bylaw issued by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam administration forbids khalwat (filthy acts) and imposes punishment by whipping, which is not regulated in the country's legal system.
According to the commission, the discriminatory bylaws were mostly issued by regencies and municipalities in six provinces – namely West Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara.
Since Indonesia will soon hold legislative and presidential elections, the commission urged the future government to revoke all discriminatory regulations.
"The elected president should scrap all these bylaws immediately, because the state is responsible for the protection of the rights of all citizens, especially minority groups," Kamala said.
The commission also urged the People's Consultative Assembly to amend the Constitution so as to perfect the system and ensure human rights are fully upheld. (naf)