Jakarta – A woman is paraded through the streets for public scorn simply because her clothes are deemed too revealing. Another is struck by a "morality enforcer" for the crime of neglecting to wear her headscarf while sitting on her porch.

These are not dark tales of religious autocracy from way back when, but evidence of the real challenges facing Indonesian women today, women's activist Erlinda said Monday.

Although the incidents she described happened in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the freedom provided by regional autonomy is being exploited by conservatives for political ends in many areas. And the first casualties of religious conservatism are women, with the battleground to be found in regencies, she said.

Alarmed by blatant violations of women's rights in local regulations that scoff at the separation of religion and state, women's groups are going on the offensive.

It is the abusive and distorted interpretations of Islamic law to suppress women which Zohra Andi Baso is fighting against as they chip away at the gains made by women in society in recent years.

"We aren't anti-Islamic... But these regulations limit women to the domestic sphere," the national presidium coordinator of the Women's Coalition said during a discussion on religious conservatism here on Monday.

She noted regulation No. 451.422/Binsos-III/2005 by the Padang mayoralty in West Sumatra that obliges all female students to wear a headscarf.

The secretary-general of the coalition, Masruchah, said local regulations in Aceh often relegated women to second-class citizens. "They cannot be leaders. They are forced to obey their husbands, and aren't allowed to work without permission from their spouse."

Conservatism has become more prevalent since the application of regional autonomy in 2001, which gives local administrations the authority to freely govern their respective areas. According to the coalition, regencies in South Sulawesi, West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara have also tried to introduce regulations which demand conformity to a restrictive set of religious codes.

The freedom of regional autonomy, the women argued, should not transgress a women's rights of autonomy over her own body.

The coalition believes the public should be galvanized to fight the conservative trend, and noted that coordinated campaigns have yielded success.

A coalition member from East Nusa Tenggara, Diana, recalled the attempt of the Mataram mayoralty to issue an antiimmorality bill that imposed curfews for women and required them to wear headscarves.

There were even clauses, she said, on arresting women standing alone near a hotel, and the likelihood of punishment if her attire was deemed provocative. The controversial articles were eventually dropped after protests from local NGOs and women's organizations.

Contacted separately, the head of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Umar Shihab, said a Muslim woman's decision to wear the headscarf was a personal one. "We never support anyone forcing their will on others," he told The Jakarta Post. "The state should not force people to dress in an Islamic way. Such awareness must come from their own hearts."

Putting religious and ideological arguments aside, perhaps the most telling comment came from Masruchah, who wears the headscarf. "Why is the state intervening in how a woman dresses?" she said.