T

he year of 2012 ended with heinous crimes against women, which again underlines that violence against women continue to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world, including in Indonesia.

A 23-year-old medical student in New Delhi was brutally gang-raped on a public bus in front of a male friend, then thrown semi-naked onto the road. Two weeks later, she died due to massive internal injuries resulting from an atrocious beating sustained during the rape.

The slow response of the authorities marked by a patriarchal system incited widespread outrage and riots throughout the city. The incident reminds us that patriarchal systems that emphasize the oppression of women fail to protect women from violence in public places.

Shortly after, I watched on the news about the tragic death of an 11-year-old girl who was suspected of being repeatedly sexually assaulted. Previously, she had been treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) at Persahabatan Hospital, East Jakarta, due to unabated seizures.

She was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 29. While she was administered medication to stop the seizures, doctors found vaginal and rectal wounds on the fifth-grade student. It was suspected she had suffered sexual assaults prior to her deteriorating condition. Her injuries were suspected to have caused a brain infection leading to her death.

Again, it was another failure on how families and society have failed to protect women from violence by sexual predators.

Afterward, I read on the news that Aceh, the only province that follows sharia (Islamic law) would soon issue a regulation banning women passengers from sitting with their legs straddled across a motorcycle. The mayor of Lhokseumawe said the regulation was aimed at saving people’s “morals and behavior”. Further, he elaborated that straddling the bike seat violated Islamic values.

 I was enraged. This was way beyond my sane understanding. It was the most outrageous and bizarre “joke” I heard at the beginning of 2013. How come the way we sit on motorcycles determines the morality of men? It also means that women are not allowed to drive motorcycles! I see no common sense in this upcoming law.

I am a woman and a Muslim.

I always sit “side-saddle” when I take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) for my personal convenience. But I do straddle the bike when I drive my motorcycle and I can assure you that the way I sit doesn’t cause moral problems for my neighbors or passersby! I don’t read about any such regulation in the Holy Book.

The law is discriminatory and has a gender bias. It is formulated by patriarchal regulators and systems that always see women as “seeds of evil”. Thus, they need to put a leash on us like we are some sort of animal! Sometimes, I just don’t understand the way “civilized” men think.

If the central government ever passes the proposed regulation, our legal pendulum will swing to yet another extreme. Gender bias has run rampant in our court system. It took many painful years for our legal systems to recognize women as victims of domestic violence. Women still have long way to go to achieve equality before the law.

Herlina
Jakarta