Protests as "Sex Before Marriage" Bill being passed into Law

Indonesians have been seen breaking out in thousands to protest the Parliament’s proposed bill which will criminalize “Sex Before Marriage”.

According to BBC News, the bill, if passed into law, would outlaw abortions and also criminalize passing insults on the president.

Although the bill has been delayed by the President, Joko Widodo, who stated that the bill needed more considerations, however, protesters fear the possibility of it being passed into law.

The proposed new criminal code interprets;

“Sex before marriage would be criminalised and could result in a one-year prison term

“Living together outside marriage could lead to a six-month prison sentence

“Insulting the president, vice president, religion, state institutions and symbols such as the flag and national anthem would be illegal

“Abortion would carry a maximum four-year prison term if there were no circumstances of a medical emergency or rape

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters, many of whom were students, took to the streets in cities across Indonesia condemning the bill.

Vanguard reports that the main clashes took place in the capital Jakarta as demonstrators demanded to meet parliament speaker Bambang Soesatyo. One placard held by a woman said: “My crotch does not belong to the government”. Police used tear gas and water cannons on the protesters who hit them with rocks

Protests in other areas, including Yogyakarta and Makassar on Sulawesi island, continued for a second day. “We’re going to parliament to oppose the new law for the anti-corruption agency (ies) that are not pro-people but are pro-corruptors,” Fuad Wahyudin, a 21-year-old student from an Islamic university in West Java, told Reuters.