“It’s
not easy to be a lesbian in Indonesia,” says 27-year-old Maria, not her real
name. “Although the country and your community won’t despise you, there are
always those who will hunt you down for just being who you are.”
Maria, who says
she began finding herself attracted to other girls during middle school, says
she remains fearful about coming out because of the climate of homophobia that
persists in conservative Indonesian culture.
“It’s funny that
in a democratic country like Indonesia there are still people who keep a
limited mind-set toward same-sex relationships,” she says. “Although everybody
has their own opinion, I think it’s quite unwise to hate someone just because
he or she likes being with someone who happens to be of the same gender.”
But hate is not
just the only threat that people like Maria face in Indonesia. The country’s
LGBT community has long faced discrimination, and even physical violence.
New to that list,
though, is the threat of death sanctioned by the Indonesian Council of Ulema,
or MUI, the country’s highest Islamic clerical body.
On March 4, the
MUI issued a fatwa, or edict, proposing punishments ranging from caning to the
death penalty for individuals accused of homosexual acts. It also claims that
homosexuality is a serious disease, but that like most other illnesses, it can
be cured.
“It doesn’t
matter that they love each other,” Hasanuddin A.F., the head of the MUI’s fatwa
commission, said earlier this month when announcing the anti-LGBT edict. “The
law still prohibits it. In Islamic law, it’s a sexual act that must be heavily
punished. It would be bad if the government allows same-sex marriage.”
The Indonesian
government does not recognize same-sex marriage, but at the same time it does
not criminalize homosexual acts. However, two local administrations have issued
their own bylaws that treat such acts as crimes.
In 2004,
municipal authorities in Palembang, South Sumatra, issued a regulation clumping
all LGBT-related activity under “prostitution” — an umbrella term that also
includes sodomy, sexual abuse and pornography. Under the regulation, anyone
charged with committing any of these “prostitution” activities faces the
prospect of up to six months’ imprisonment and Rp 5 million ($380) in fines.
Meanwhile, in
staunchly Islamic Aceh province, the only region in the country allowed to
implement a version of shariah, local authorities adopted a shariah-based
criminal code last year that stipulates punishment of up to 100 lashes of the
cane and 100 months in prison for those convicted of same-sex acts, even if
consensual.
The province’s
criminal code also makes sodomy and the uniquely Islamic offense of zina, or sexual
relations out of wedlock, punishable with up to 100 lashes.
While such bylaws
have often been greeted as extremist sideshows, the MUI carries more clout with
both conservative and moderate Indonesian Muslims, even if its edicts are not
legally binding.
Radical groups
such as the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, have been known to justify their
frequent violent attacks on the Ahmadiyah community by citing an MUI fatwa
branding the sect heretical.
By inveighing
against the LGBT community with its latest fatwa, the council is helping to
propagate hatred of an already beleaguered community, says LGBT activist
Hartoyo.
“Issuing such a
fatwa is as same as promoting hatred and motivating people to carry out
violence against others,” he said. “If the MUI dislikes homosexuals, it should
express its disapproval through other means, in educated and peaceful ways. It
shouldn’t shroud its message with hate and violence.”
Haris Azhar, the
coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or
Kontras, calls the MUI’s statement regrettable and says the council has long
tried to exceed its actual authority.
“Homosexuality
isn’t a crime, nor it is a deviant thing. It is merely one’s preference and
it’s private,” he said. “Besides, it isn’t the duty of MUI to determine
national law. The MUI is supposed to educate Indonesia’s Muslims. Proposing
severe punishment [such as death] shows the MUI’s less-than-mature mind-set.”
“It isn’t
official,” he emphasized of the fatwa.
“As a Muslim, I
appreciate the MUI’s efforts in issuing the fatwa,” Hartoyo said. “But, again,
as a Muslim, I stand against the fatwa because I have the right to express
myself and my preferences as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of
others.”
Human rights
lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said groups like the MUI should get past the fact
that homosexuality exists in Indonesia, and embrace people for their
differences.
“No one should
ever have their rights be violated. We’re all equal. Human rights don’t differ
among people, whatever their sexual orientation,” he said. “The government
mustn’t play favorites in protecting its citizens. Be they heterosexual, gay,
lesbian or transgender, they must all be protected. We’re all equal in the eyes
of the law.”
(thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com,
15/3/2015)
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