Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – In the wake of the outcry over the controversial four-day marriage by a West Java regent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on men, particularly those serving as public officials, to respect women and marriage.
Yudhoyono made the call during a ceremony commemorating the 84th National Mother's Day at the Small and Medium Enterprises Tower in South Jakarta on Tuesday.
"We need to build a culture of respect and honor. Men must respect and honor women and vice versa. Hence, I ask men, in particular those who serve as leaders, both formal and non-formal, to respect marriage and to uphold and obey the 1974 Marriage Law. All Indonesians must promote ethics in matters relating to marriage," the President said.
Yudhoyono also appealed to Indonesians to help prevent harassment and violence against women.
His statement on marriage was the second in under two weeks, apparently prompted by the actions of Garut Regent Aceng Fikri, who divorced his teenage wife four days after their wedding.
At a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 6, the President told ministers he wanted his aides to take Aceng as example seriously, as the four-day marriage to a teenage girl was a violation of women's rights. At that meeting, the President also said he wanted to be kept updated about Aceng, who faces impeachment at the Garut Legislative Council in West Java.
Aceng made headlines after a teenage girl, identified only as FO, revealed that she had been divorced by the regent via text message. The message was sent only four days after their marriage, which was unregistered according to Islamic custom.
Aceng was reportedly still married to Nurrohimah, the mother of his three children, when he decided to take FO as his new wife.
Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi previously said that Aceng had violated the Marriage Law and breached his oath as a public official to uphold law above all else. "Under the law, all marriages entered into by state officials must be registered," Gamawan said.
At the Mother's Day ceremony, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari said that Aceng was proof of the failure by regional administrations to promote gender equality.
"Some local cultures with strong patriarchal norms tend to undermine women's rights, and that is exacerbated by local leaders who are not gender-responsive," Linda, the wife of former transportation minister Agum Gumelar, said.
National Mother's Day is usually commemorated on Dec. 22 but this year, the ceremony was held four days earlier because Dec. 22 falls on a Saturday, according to a statement by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.
The theme of this year's National Mother's Day was "Promoting the Roles of Women and Men in Implementing Sustainable Development for the Nation's Welfare".