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Authorities take steps against ‘capture and wed’ practice
Dozens of people can be seen crowding the car, cheering and taking videos, while the kidnapped woman cries.
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viral video showing a woman being carried by force by a group of men in a practice known as kawin tangkap (capture and wed) has angered Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga and prompted the East Nusa Tenggara administration to move toward putting an end to the practice.
In the video, said to have been taken on Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara, a group of men can be seen carrying a distressed-looking woman to a black pickup truck in a public space. Another woman comes to hug the woman through the open window while trying to open the car door to get the kidnapped woman out.
Dozens of people can be seen crowding the car, cheering and taking videos, while the kidnapped woman cries.
The video later changes scene to what appears to be a house. A woman, seemingly the same one, is seen crying and screaming while being carried by several shirtless men.
Bintang said kawin tangkap was a form of violence against women and an infringement of human rights. "This case in Sumba is a [form of] violence and harassment against women. Don't let culture and tradition be used as an excuse to harass women and children," Bintang said during an online meeting about forced marriage on Friday.
She explained that there was similar bride kidnapping practice in Bali, but as time went by, the tradition was left behind because it did not align with current norms. "Culture or tradition is not static but dynamic."
Ratu Ngadu Bonu Wulla, a member of the House of Representatives Commission IX representing Sumba, also slammed kawin tangkap, claiming it had “negatively affected Sumba women”.
Bintang expressed hope to cooperate with the police force on the island and local NGOs to stop the practice and protect women from violence and exploitation.
The administration of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has vowed to abolish the practice, claiming that it violated humanitarian values, the state ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.
"The NTT administration supports the eradication of customary laws that violate human rights. [...] We urge religious leaders, tribal leaders and regional administrations to stop any customary practice that shackles humanity," the head of NTT's Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Agency, Erny Usboko, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Erny said any regulation or culture that infringed human dignity should be changed.
"Of course, it is not as easy as turning one's hand and [the practice] could not be stopped immediately. It will take a gradual and slow process by educating local indigenous communities,” she said.
She said Sumba’s local administrations, religious leaders and tribal leaders could hold a discussion about equality, dignity, justice, universality and humanity.
"NTT Governor Viktor Laiskodat has held a meeting with regents from Sumba Island, asking them to stop any customary law that contradicts humanitarian values and justice. We don't want customary laws to violate human rights," Erny said.
East Nusa Tenggara Legislative Council Speaker Emilia Nomleni said the practice should be stopped at all costs.
"In my opinion, kawin tangkap needs to be stopped by all means, as it violates the law and is a form of harassment not only for women but also children. We'll never know whether the women 'kidnapped' from public spaces or their boarding houses are underage or not," she told the Post on Wednesday.
