W

hen 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 it is “pro-adultery” and supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

A petition to reject the bill on religious grounds, initiated by a Bandung lecturer named Maimon Herawati, has gained traction, with 149,500 people having signed it as of Wednesday.

The conservatives’ objection to the bill revolves around the scope and definition of “sexual violence” outlined in the draft.

The bill mentions nine types of sexual violence, comprising sexual harassment, including verbal harassment, sexual exploitation, forced use of contraception, rape, forced marriage, forced abortion, forced prostitution, sexual slavery and torture using sexual abuse.

The bill, they say, fails to classify fornication or adultery, which is religiously prohibited, as a form of sexual violence.

Therefore, they argue the bill promotes promiscuity by condoning consensual sex outside marital bonds.

They also objected to the concept of rape that applies to married couples, saying that it is a wife’s obligation to meet her husband’s sexual needs.

The PKS was the first to reject the bill entirely on the grounds it has a “liberal perspective”.

“The PKS is determined to reject the bill and will take constitutional steps to drop the bill’s deliberation,” Jazuli Juwaini, chairman of the PKS faction at the House, said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

The PPP was less up front in their opposition to the bill, but it made its stance clear that the bill must conform to existing ethical and religious values.

“We should ensure that [all bills] should be based on local norms and religious values,” PPP lawmaker Reni Marlinawati said.

The PKS and the PPP factions accounted for less than 15 percent of the total seats at the House. The two parties alone could not derail the bill’s passage.

But with the legislative election just around the corner, several other parties — such as the National Mandate Party, the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party — have been cautious in responding to the issue for fear of electoral backlash.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Gerindra Party and the National Awakening Party are the only parties defending the bill.

The parties are of the same opinion as some women’s groups who believe that the bill should not regulate adultery.

“All this time, most sexual violence cases have led to victim blaming. Women have become objects, but then they are blamed for being the perpetrators. So, we are not talking about free sex. It’s all about equality and justice,” said PDI-P lawmaker Budiman Sudjatmiko.

Nur Rofiah, a member of the Indonesian Women’s Ulema Congress, said adultery was already regulated in the Criminal Code.

“The bill actually helps [prevent] adultery that involves violence,” said the Jakarta Quranic College lecturer.

National Commission on Violence Against Women commissioner Mariana Amiruddin, meanwhile, suspected the controversy surrounding the bill was related to the general elections.

“I did not see this coming because based on a discussion forum held last year, we did not receive much reaction from those who opposed the bill,” Mariana said. (mai)