Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Nationalist-oriented parties tend to turn a blind eye to polygamy as a women's group found in a recent study showing they endorsed legislative candidates who publicly admitted to taking more than one wife.
Indonesian Women Solidarity (SPI), a nongovernmental organization defending women's rights, released Friday a list of 21 legislative candidates known to practice polygamy.
Candidates from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's Golkar Party were on the list.
Candidates from Muslim-based parties, including the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and United Development Party (PPP), dominated the list.
SPI coordinator Yeni Rosa Damayanti said the group would continue to update the data and make it public so voters could take it into consideration when voting.
"In fact, it was easier to get confirmation from Islamist candidates, as many of them seemed to be proud of the fact that they're polygamists," Yeni told a dialogue on polygamy at the Legal Aid Institute Foundation in Jakarta.
SPI released a similar list late last week, comprising only 10 names.
PKS Secretary-General Anis Matta, (on the list) said the group were conducting a smear campaign against polygamous candidates.
Anis, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission XI on financial affairs, said the polygamy issue was a private matter and had nothing to do with the election.
Golkar Party's Agun Gunanjar Sudarsa, who was on the extended list, said anti-Islam groups were behind the campaign against polygamous candidates.
On the telephone, Agun confirmed he had a second wife, whom he married after 17 years of childless marriage with his first wife, who consented to his second marriage. "My first wife attended my wedding ceremony with my second wife," he said.
Agun who is a member of House Commission II on legal affairs, added that his polygamous marriage had no bearing on his duty as a public official.
"The public understands the polygamy issue well... I don't think it will have any effect on the election," he said. He laughed off the possibility that the polygamy issue would hurt his reelection bid.
Yeni believes neither polygamous candidates nor their parties would win women's votes. in the April 9 elections. "Polygamy is a physical abuse against women and people practicing and condoning it should not be trusted to lead a country that respects human rights," she said.
There is no exact data on how many people are involved in polygamous marriages in Indonesia. The country has no law banning polygamy, though there is a government regulation banning civil servants and members of the police and army from practicing it.
However, at least in public dialogue, Indonesian women still view polygamy as a form of discrimination against women.
Trie Utami, a popular singer, who lived through a polygamous marriage before divorcing her former-husband, said that women simply have little room in Muslim majority Indonesia to receive fair treatment in marriage, urging men and women to think twice before going through polygamous marriages.
"Men too often use the excuse that polygamy is allowed in Islam to justify their lust," she said during the dialogue. "Women must think ahead and imagine the unhappiness polygamy can bring. We need to consider whether we want such men as our leaders."