"I disagree *with the bill*. It sounds like it is selling Indonesian women," Feby who married French Bruce Deltail, told detik.com Thursday. According to Feby, not all foreign men who marry Indonesian women have the same characteristics that may cause problems down the line.

"Not all foreign men who marry Indonesian women will cause problems later on. If the bill is made into a law, it is really won't be fair. On the one hand, it may bring about good things, but on the other, it will be very harmful," she said. The star of soap opera Tersanjung (Flattered) further argued that not all foreign men in Indonesia were rich. "Not everyone has Rp 500 million," she said.

Your comments:
What if an Indonesian man marries a foreign woman? Does he too have to pay US$50,000 to the foreign government?

What a piece of legislation! I'm very proud of our honorable representatives at Senayan. If you plan to attract foreign investment, please don't refer to the slavery of women. That's a human rights violation over here. I smell dirty business.

Moammad Ali
Jakarta

Dear brothers and sisters, I am really happy to see that you all are asking same thing which I want to ask this government. I am a 20-year-old boy, a Pakistani nationalist and a Muslim.

I came to Indonesia for my higher education and I happened to fall in love with an Indonesian girl. I am so lucky to find her because she is so religious and good-natured.

We both love each other so much. Like other people, I have a few dreams in this world: To be a good engineer and support my young brothers; to marry my girlfriend and take her, along with her parents, for haj and ummrah (minor haj); to build a beautiful masjid in either country, Indonesia or Pakistan.

Demanding US$50,000 for a marriage simply means killing love in this world. Why is the Indonesian government being so cruel? I would like to marry my girlfriend one day.

Danish
Jakarta

If this is supposed to serve as some kind of insurance for Indonesian women, as foreign husbands are supposedly so bad compared to Indonesian husbands, I fear that I will have to watch my back every day in the future.

I thought I could live a safe and peaceful life in Indonesia with my family and newborn son, but this doesn't feel comfortable at all!

Per A
Jakarta

I am an American man who married an Indonesian woman. We married in 2005, and since then we've had one beautiful child, so far, alhamdulillah.

My wife and I are totally, unalterably opposed to this bill! It would have prevented our marriage.

At the time of our marriage I was a dirt-poor graduate student, and even now, I don't make much money.

What the Indonesian government is proposing is nakedly anti-Islamic - they are making it nearly impossible for a Muslim man and woman to marry one another just because they come from different countries.

Islam is anti-nationalist and encourages us to view all Muslims as brothers and sisters.

Likewise, Prophet Muhammad said that "Marriage is half of religion". The proposed law is a violation of both Islamic principles and human rights.

Robert Stallmann
Merced, CA

Reading this article made me worried as I am preparing to marry a foreign man.

The House of Representatives should not have to consider such laws as love is universal and, if they do so, it means they will be violating women's rights.

Tere
Surabaya

Why must a foreigner pay a deposit to the government if they want to marry an Indonesian woman? They get the money, but if something happens to the woman who marries the foreigner or if they divorce, the government will not care and will do not do anything.

Not only corruption, and fanatics, but now the government wants to sell their people for money.

Naibaho
Bali

A couple more thoughts: Is this deposit really a kind of dowry that is paid to the Indonesian state to compensate it for the loss of a woman who may be taken overseas as a bride?

Or is it also there to protect the foreign groom, to ensure he thinks long and hard about marrying an Indonesian woman?

John Hammond
The United States

The "marriage bill" seems like the Indonesian government has not only put a price tag on Indonesian women but is acting like a procuress (mucikari).

And the worst is that what will happen is that the women and children will now have no legal status because not all foreign men can afford such an amount.

Selvi Tisnawati
Houston

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