INDONESIA-RELIGION/GAY LGBT in Indonesia's Aceh go underground due to tightened Sharia law

Record ID: 278232

  • Title: INDONESIA-RELIGION/GAY LGBT in Indonesia's Aceh go underground due to tightened Sharia law
  • Date: 28th December 2014
  • Summary: BANDA ACEH, ACEH PROVINCE, INDONESIA (FILE-OCTOBER 2014) (REUTERS) RELIGIOUS POLICE TALKING TO TWO WOMEN SUSPECTED OF VIOLATING SHARIA LAW RELIGIOUS POLICE JOTTING DETAILS FROM IDENTITY CARD VARIOUS RELIGIOUS POLICE TALKING TO WOMEN SUSPECTED OF VIOLATING SHARIA LAW
  • Embargoed: 12th January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVALJZVHZ68EQUI9M28W2Q6S47
  • Story Text: After a new anti-homosexuality law passed in Indonesia's province of Aceh in late October, LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groups say they are being being forced deeper underground.
    Life was never easy for the gay community in the most religiously conservative region of Indonesia. But now, under Sharia law, anyone caught having gay sex can be punished with 100 lashes. Amnesty International has criticised the punishment, but some of Aceh's LGBT community say they have no choice but to disappear from view.
    "I have the support of my family, especially my parents, they are the ones who give me courage to face the difficulties. So me and my friends decided we'll go invisible and hang out only among people from our community," said a member of LGBT rights group Violet Grey, who declined to be identified for fear of arrest.
    The province's tight-knit gay community, estimated by some at around 1,000 people, has become increasingly marginalised since Aceh was given the right to use Islamic Sharia law as its legal code.
    Aceh was granted that right as part of a 2005 peace agreement ending a three-decade-old separatist movement.
    After the law was passed, Violet Grey began warning its 47 members to keep a lower profile and for gay and transgender people to avoid dating in public at night.
    The gay community is a target of regular harassment from Sharia police and residents. Transgender people are particularly vulnerable because of the difficulty of concealing themselves in public.
    Outside Aceh, Indonesia is generally tolerant towards gay people, particularly in urban areas like Jakarta, which has thriving communities.
    But gay rights groups fear other religiously conservative provinces could follow Aceh's lead if Indonesia's new president, Joko Widodo, does not step in and overturn the law.
    "Like what we read in the last three years, for example, some provinces also proposed the Sharia, West Java for example, or South Sumatra or West Sumatra. So if they (Home Ministry) decide to approve it, I'm really sure the other provinces will follow," said Tono Permana, the national co-ordinator of Indonesia's National Gay Rights Group.
    The law is now pending final approval from Indonesia's Home Ministry.
    Aceh authorities defended the new law, saying it did not violate human rights because gay people were free to live together provided they did not have sex.
    "There's no restriction on living together but it will be a problem if they are married. Getting married with the same sex is forbidden in the Koran and under Sharia law. However, if two people of the same sex are not married, they can live, eat, work and even sleep in the same bed. As long as there's no sexual intercourse, Sharia allows that," said Syahrizal Abbas, the head of Aceh's Sharia department, which designed the law.
    "We are building awareness among the community, informing the people in this category (LGBT) that these behaviours are not allowed on religious grounds. And if it happens, we will do social rehabilitation. Social rehabilitation means teaching them through religious teachings, social life and work," he added.
    No one has been arrested yet under the law, which Aceh officials say will not be enforced until the end of 2015.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register