Indonesia is poised to pass a new law that would criminalise sex outside of marriage, abortion, and insults on the president's dignity - a move rights groups have criticised as an assault on basic freedoms.
The new penal code, that would see those who engage in extramarital sex face punishment of up to one year in jail, comes amidst a recent trend towards deeper religious piety and conservative Islamic activism in the world's most populous Muslim majority country.
Human rights groups have called for the Indonesian parliament to revise the changes, which they say will violate the rights of women, religious minorities, and the LGBTQ community, and freedom of speech.
Indonesia's parliament and government agreed a final draft, of the 628-article bill on Wednesday and the House of Representatives is expected to vote on it later in the month.
The changes to the law would also apply to foreigners visiting the nation which is home to around 260 million people, including substantial Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minority groups.
Lawmakers said that the new penal code, which would replace a Dutch colonial-era set of laws, was a long overdue expression of Indonesian independence and religiosity.
'The state must protect citizens from behaviour that is contrary to the supreme precepts of God,' said Nasir Djamil, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party.
He said leaders of all religions had been consulted on the changes given that Indonesia's founding ideology was based on belief in God.
Under the proposed laws, unmarried couples who 'live together as a husband and wife' could be jailed for six months or face a maximum fine of 10 million rupiah ($710), which is three months' salary for many Indonesians.
A prosecution can proceed if a village chief, who heads the lowest tier of government, files a complaint with police, and parents or children of the accused do not object. Parents, children and spouses can also lodge a complaint.
The inclusion of the new power for village chiefs was warranted because 'the victim of adultery is also society', another lawmaker, Teuku Taufiqulhadi, said.
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Across the board, this is a ratcheting up of conservatism. It's extremely regressive,' said Tim Lindsey, director of the University of Melbourne's Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society.
The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, an NGO, said millions of Indonesians could be ensnared by the new laws. It noted a study indicating that 40 per cent of Indonesian adolescents engaged in pre-marital sexual activity.
The law also impacts homosexuals as gay marriage is not recognised in Indonesia.
The code also establishes prison terms for those found to commit 'obscene acts', defined as violating norms of decency and politeness through 'lust or sexuality' for both heterosexual and homosexual people.
The new laws will also apply to foreigners. However, asked whether tourists in Indonesia could face jail for extramarital sex, Taufiqulhadi said: 'No problem, as long as people don't know.'
There would also be a maximum four-year prison term for women who have an abortion, applicable if there was no medical emergency or rape involved. The code further introduces fines for some people who promote contraception, and a six-month prison term for unauthorised discussion of 'tools of abortion'.
Senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, Andreas Harsono, said such a move would put women's lives at risk.
'The bill's provisions censoring information about contraception could set back the progress Indonesia has made in recent years to dramatically reduce maternal deaths,' Harsono said.
Insulting the government and state institutions also carries a prison term - which activists say could have an impact on press freedoms - a similar law was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2006.
In a statement, Human Right Watch, said if passed the new laws would; 'violate free speech and freedom of association. The ability to engage in political speech, even speech espousing a peaceful political ideology that the government does not favor, lies at the heart of the democratic process.'
If passed, the new penal code would also give local authorities greater freedom to introduce punishments for breaches of customary laws not covered in the penal code.
Currently Aceh province is the only one that imposes Sharia law, but if the code is passed it could see more impose the Islamic law, which activists say could pose a risk to civil liberties, such as the mandatory wearing of a hijab, an Islamic headscarf for women.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
