The Jakarta Post
When the sexual violence bill was initiated in 2016 in response to the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Bengkulu, the political initiative received unanimous support from lawmakers and a public outraged by the brutality of the rapists.
Today, the bill hangs in the balance as it has become the subject of a clash between conservative Indonesians and their relatively more liberal fellow countrymen over whether its content is too “liberal” for the country with the largest Muslim population.
In recent days, the only two Islamic factions at the House of Representativses — the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) — have openly voiced their rejection of the bill, saying that it was not in line with local norms.
The two parties appear to be responding to the growing opposition to the bill by several Muslims who believe ...