T

he National Commission on Violence against Women is pushing for the annulment of the new Criminal Code bylaw passed last week in Aceh, as the commission says it does not provide protection for victims, mainly victims of rape including minors. Among other issues, rape defenders can walk free after pledging five times that they did not commit the crimes, and victims could be criminalized as adulterers if they fail to provide four witnesses, or results of DNA tests in the case of victims who were impregnated and bore children. The Islamic sharia-based bylaw also applies to non Muslims.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should use his powers and annul the bylaw, called the Qanun Jinayat, if Governor Zaini Abdullah fails to do so.

The 2005 Helsinki Agreement signed between the Indonesian government and the former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) paved the way for special autonomy, ending decades of war that had left thousands dead, mostly civilians. Aceh became the only province allowed to issue bylaws based on sharia.

Following the Dec. 26 2004 earthquake and tsunami in which Aceh was hit hardest, many residents said the disaster was a reminder of their sins and that adopting sharia would help bring peace to their land, dubbed Serambi Mekkah, the Veranda of Mecca. While it was initially welcomed to end major crimes such as killings and widespread graft, as the years have passed many have questioned the interpretation and enforcement of sharia. What has become prominent in public view is caning for crimes such as gambling and adultery, even though among those caned were women who had reported being raped.

Activists failed in their appeal to delay the passing of the bylaw, saying consultations with civil society had been inadequate. Outside Aceh there was little attention paid; in part given Friday'€™s shocking end to the direct election of regional heads '€” but also because of the dominant view that believes that the Acehnese themselves should deal with the consequences of their special autonomy, especially after causing so much anxiety over probable separation following the departure of today'€™s Timor Leste. Any dissenting opinion raised over the implementation of sharia in Aceh earns the stigma of being anti-Islamic.

Many have congratulated Aceh over the new qanun. But those who disagree with many aspects of Islamic law in Aceh say it does not reflect the spirit of Islam which upholds compassion, and does not provide the intended better protection for citizens compared to national law.

On Tuesday the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice (APIK) commemorated a decade of the law on domestic violence, saying female victims had now come forward to report violence against them despite their husbands'€™ treatment of them not having previously been considered a crime.

The Acehnese, including women, are known to be outspoken; however, under such an Islamic bylaw many will continue to suffer in silence, giving wide room for more violence and abuse within the presumed safety of homes and hamlets, even though the war ended almost 10 years ago.