Former head of Nahdlatul Ulama National Board (PBNU) Hasyim Muzadi asked the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) to issue a fatwa against sending female migrant workers to foreign countries.

Hasyim cited the protests from religious leaders of Robithoh Alam Islami, an international Islamic organization founded in 1962, regarding Indonesia's practice of sending female migrant workers overseas.

"Isn't sending a woman to a faraway place without a mahram (any man with whom a woman has a blood or foster relationship) forbidden by Sharia law?," Hasyim was quoted as saying by news portal Detik.com.

"Doesn't sending the women lower Islam and Indonesia itself? Why doesn't Pak Hasyim talk to the Indonesian president?" said Hasyim, echoing the questions of many Muslim clerics in the World Islamic League that took place in Mecca in 2010.

"They asked what Indonesian clerics truly thought of the situation. They also said that no Islamic country, no matter how poor, sends their female migrant workers to Saudi Arabia," explained Hasyim.

Hasyim said that he has brought the issue to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the MUI's attention. However, he failed to obtain a response.

"Therefore, I beg and urge the Indonesian Ulama Council to issue a firm fatwa and for all clerics in the country to urge the Indonesian government to stop sending female migrant workers overseas," he said.

He also said that the issue should be handled directly by the president and other state officials, because such matters require the highest level of diplomacy.