Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Groups of women's rights activists from eight provinces have intensified pressure on legislators to cancel the pornography bill, citing that it could further criminalize women across the archipelago.
Women's and children's rights activists from Jakarta, North Sumatra, Bali, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, East Java, Central Java and Aceh voiced their opposition to the bill during a four-hour meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
"We think the porn bill is flawed. Since the beginning, the discussions have been held in closed-door meetings and have lacked public participation," the activists said in their joint statement.
The statement will be submitted to the House of Representatives working committee on the bill on Friday. The committee has said the bill is aimed at protecting women and children from the porn industry.
"However, the bill places women as the perpetrators of pornography. The fact is that both women and children fall victims to the pornography business," the group said. "Once the porn bill is passed into law, women will be criminalized."
Coordinator for legal affairs at the Women's Legal Aid Foundation Sri Nurherwati said the porn bill contained a vague definition of pornography. "It will open gaps for everybody to use it for their own benefit," she said.
The heavily-criticized bill was initially scheduled to be brought to a House plenary session last week for endorsement. However, the deliberation has been delayed due to mounting opposition from activists nationwide. The bill has been criticized for threatening privacy rights and national pluralism.
The House's leading two factions – the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) – walked out of the deliberation process in protest of the bill. No information is available as to when the plenary session will be held.
"We have not set a schedule for the deliberation," said legislator Latifah Iskandar of the National Mandate Party. "However, I can't guarantee that my party will reject the bill despite your input," she told the activists. "It is a matter of negotiation."
Activist Sarma Hutajulu from North Sumatra said the hype surrounding the porn bill would only encourage local administrations to issue bylaws that discriminate against women's rights.
"The Medan municipality administration is awaiting the results of the porn bill's deliberation. It has finished drafting a bylaw on pornography," she said.
Sarma said one article in the bill forbade women from taking baths in rivers without appropriately covering their bodies. "It criminalizes women's rights as such practices are still common in many areas in North Sumatra," she said.
Representatives from Bali also called on legislators to "bury" the porn bill, citing a similar reason.