Living together is banned too...
In Indonesia’s parliament a new criminal code that bans anyone in the country from having extramarital sex and also restrict political freedom has been approved.
Under this new law, sex outside marriage will be a crime or carry a jail in term up to a year, which will take effect in three years.
In the Muslim majority country after a rise in religious conservatism, the raft of changes has come.
This law is a “disaster” for the people who see this as against human rights, and a potential blow to tourism and investment.
This week in Jakarta many groups of mainly young people protested against the legislation outside the parliament. It seems like the new law will be challenged in court.
This law will be equally applied to locals and to foreigners living in Indonesia, whether visiting holiday destinations such as Bali. Under the law, if unmarried couples caught having sex then they can be jailed for up to a year.
Living together is also banned, which is an act for which people could be jailed for up to six months. Adultery will also be an offence for which people can be jailed.
Sex before marriage was already banned prior to the approval of this new criminal code, but the law was often not enforced.
Earlier, the old law in Indonesia defined adultery as sex between a married man and a woman who’s not his wife, while this new law bans all sex outside of marriage, including between unmarried couples.
Some are supporters of this new legislation say changes were made to accommodate concern of critics, while some are against and filed complaint.
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