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Indonesia Bans Sex Outside Of Marriage

(Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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The Parliament of Indonesia passed legislation Tuesday fulfilling the nation’s years-long effort to outlaw premarital sex and defamation against the president.

Parliament attempted to pass a similar piece of legislation in 2019, but was buried by President Joko Widodo after thousands of citizens protested in the streets in opposition to the bill, The New York Times reported. The government suddenly announced Nov. 30 that a draft of the law was headed for a vote for ratification.

The new law could force unmarried couples to be jailed for six months or be fined 10 million rupiah ($710), even if they are cohabited, according to The New York Times. Police can make an arrest if a close family member files a report.

Government officials said they communicated with activists and human rights groups before passing the law, the outlet reported. Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, Indonesia’s deputy minister of law and human rights, suggested that the law will likely be challenged in the nation’s Constitutional Court.

This picture taken on December 5, 2022 shows activists holding a protest against the new criminal code outside the parliament building in Jakarta. - Indonesia's parliament approved on December 6 legislation that would outlaw pre-marital sex while making other sweeping changes to the criminal code -- a move critics deemed as a setback to the country's freedoms. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) (Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images)

This picture taken on December 5, 2022 shows activists holding a protest against the new criminal code outside the parliament building in Jakarta. – Indonesia’s parliament approved on December 6 legislation that would outlaw pre-marital sex while making other sweeping changes to the criminal code — a move critics deemed as a setback to the country’s freedoms. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) (Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images)

“If there are citizens who feel that their constitutional rights have been violated, the door of the constitutional court is wide open for that,” Hiariej said last month. (RELATED: Court Rules Against School With No-Sex-Before-Straight-Marriage Rule)

Opponents of the legislation argue that it disproportionately targets gay and lesbian couples, who are not legally permitted to marry, and the Islamic religion. Since the downfall of Indonesian dictator Suharto in 1998, Indonesia established itself as a democratic nation and became increasingly lax on homosexuality, the outlet reported. But in recent years, conservative Islam continues to attain power throughout the country, allowing members of Parliament to pass a right-of-center agenda.

This push was backed by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, an Islamic cleric and the former chair of the Indonesian Ulema Council, who has previously called for “stern regulations” on homosexual acts, the outlet reported.

The legislation also reinstated a provision to outlaw any attack on the “honor or dignity” of the president or vice president, which had previously been struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2006, the outlet reported. Last year, police arrested an artist for painting a mockery mural of Joko.

The law further criminalizes an individual who attempts to persuade some to be a “nonbeliever” under its blasphemy law, according to the outlet. This provision revived as officials and citizens have faced harsh punishments for criticizing religion, particularly Islam.

Former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ally of Joko, was arrested in 2017 for allegedly insulting Islam by jokingly pointing to a verse in the Qaran as he recited a campaign speech, the outlet reported.