Indonesian fears over porn law
The introduction of a bill which would heavily restrict pornography
in Indonesia has been attacked by women's rights campaigners in the
country, who fear it is the first step towards the implementation
of Islamic Sharia law.
The bill has polarised society in the country, with conservative
Islamic groups - who say tighter controls are needed - pressing for
its swift passage into law.
But many women's groups and artists fear proposals to crack down on
anything regarded as pornography by the bill's sponsors could
restrict freedoms.
Gaddis Arrivia, a professor at the University of Indonesia and
editor of a feminist journal, told BBC World Service's Analysis
programme that she feared the bill would lead to harsh restrictions
on women's everyday life, in particular by forcing them to cover
up.
"There are strong elements of Sharia law in this bill," she
said.
"Lately we have 58 local laws in the provinces in Indonesia
regulating what women can and cannot wear. This bill is the same -
it has a lot of nuances of Sharia law in it."
Strong influence
There is widespread agreement across many sections of Indonesian
society that highly explicit material should be restricted to
adults.
But groups such as the country's press council - which has made
representations asking for the bill to be dropped - fear
conservative groups are using the anti-porn bill to push for more
Islamic-based laws.
In particular, the wording of the new bill has caused deep concern.
It could ban what is described as "porno action", such as
displaying the navel or acts such as kissing in public. Both will
be punishable by five years in prison or a 250 million rupiah
fine.
"The way they define pornography is more of eroticism and
sensuality," Dr Arrivia said.
"Porno actually means also banning kissing in public, and also
dancing erotically is also considered pornography.
"What they consider sensual is the way women dress - so this is
really about covering women up, and this is ridiculous."
John Sidel, a Professor of International and Comparative Politics
at the London School of Economics, said that Islamist parties want
to have a strong influence on the passage of the bill - despite
their minority status.
"I certainly think that there are people who feel strongly about
this issue in a genuine way. On the other hand there are others who
are no doubt making use of this as an issue to remind people that
they should be good or better Muslims," he said.
"There are people who are using this issue to extract favours, and
who would like to make some kind of mileage on this issue - not
just for publicity's sake, but also, perhaps, to increase their
regulatory power in Indonesian society.
"Islamists have done rather poorly over the last 10 years, and are
in a secular decline - so they're making the most of the residual
influence they might have on these kinds of issues."
"Pornographic action"
He added that while he believed the bill is not intended as a
stepping stone to implementing Sharia law, is was possible it could
"open up the door to a broadly Islamist form of regulation of
everyday life."
However, advocates of the bill have demonstrated in force, with
more than 10,000 activists on the streets of the capital Jakarta
last week to show their backing for the tougher laws.
Thousands more turned out for demonstrations - organised by mosques
and conservative Islamic groups - in towns across Indonesia.
"As a mother, I fully support the government's efforts to introduce
an anti-pornography bill," one demonstrator told Analysis.
"We feel that pornography is dangerous for our children."
One of the key figures invoked in the debate is pop star Inul
Daratista, whose performances on prime time TV involve a style of
dancing known as "drilling" - swivelling her hips and twisting
towards the ground.
Her performances have offended many conservative observers, who
argue they are concerned that girls from ordinary backgrounds -
like Inul's - may copy her dancing.
Dr Zuo Kiflimanca, an MP from the Islamic Justice and Prosperity
Party (PKS), said he wants to see much tighter controls on what he
views as "pornographic action."
"In principle, my party will support the bill - with the
understanding that a lot of porn magazines and some programmes on
television are not right for our children," he said.
"So the message is that to save the future of our children, we
should create this kind of bill."