Friday, 10 March 2006 @ 9:48am. It must be Fleet Week here in Jakarta. There are men (country?) in Navy uniforms all over the place. Being a Navy brat myself, it was nice to see the crisp white attire, but my bubble was burst a little when I saw one of the men break out his little cell phone that had charms dangling from it. 
The biggest controversy as of late has been the proposal of a pornography bill, which is currently before the House of Representatives. Much of the bill is vague and open to lots of interpretation and therefore variation in terms of implementation. Many groups have come out against the bill, arguing that it violates cultural traditions (e.g., Balinese and Papua dress) and targets women especially unfairly. In other words, the bill is not anti-pornography, it is anti-women. In conjunction with International Women’s Day on Wednesday, several groups staged peaceful protests against the pornography bill, as well as sharia law. Women are infuriated that the bill and sharia law criminalize women’s sexuality and behavior, and curtails women’s freedoms, but not men’s. For example, the bill allows for fines or jail time for women who expose “sensitive” parts of their bodies, which could include their hair, shoulders, and legs. And of course, artists are upset because they could be prosecuted for having nudity in their artwork. The Jakarta Post noted that “The women said the bill targeted women without examining the core issues in pornography that mostly involved men, capitalism and the patriarchal system.” Other protests focused on economic and education problems in the country, which adversely and disproportionately affect women as well.
When I asked someone why certain Muslim groups and politicians are pushing this bill instead of focusing on the poor economic conditions here or some other pressing public policy issue, the response was that the groups are testing the waters. If they can get this bill passed, then it opens the door to pushing a more conservative agenda in the coming months and years. Interesting…
