Indonesia Considers Making Miniskirt Wearing A Porn Crime

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, March 29 (Bernama) -- For Indonesia's anti-pornography task force, less appears to be more. It is set to crack down on women wearing skirts which fall above the knee as such attire will soon come under its universal definition of pornography. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who is task force chairman, said the definition would be applied to all regions in the country, regardless of cultural background. "We have yet to set a standard definition of pornography on which we will base our work. "However, there must be a set of universal criteria to define something as pornographic, one of which will be when a woman wears a skirt above the knee," he was quoted today as saying by English daily, The Jakarta Post. On whether the task force would give leniency to women living in non-Muslim provinces, such as Bali and Papua, the minister said the task force would ensure the standards were universally applied. "I know that some parts of the country have unique cultures, such as Bali and Papua. Nevertheless, we think that we must set universal criteria to be implemented in all parts of the archipelago. "Requiring women to wear skirts that fall below the knee is one such criterion," said Suryadharma. Meanwhile, the plan has drawn immediate condemnation from politicians and activists. Indonesia's House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said Suryadharma had gone too far in defining pornography. "This will obviously make female law makers furious. I don't think the task force should make a fuss about women's skirts. I think the definition of pornography must be based on principles, with regard to how people should behave," he said. Meanwhile, National Commission on Violence Against Women deputy head Masruchah slammed the plan, calling it a violation of women's rights. "There are already norms and ethics in each community. People already know what they should wear, where and when," she was qouted as saying by another daily, The Jakarta Globe. Masruchah said the government must respect the diversity of its cultures and religions, stressing that sexual harassment and assault had nothing to do with the availability of pornography or women's sartorial choices. "Data on rapes showed that they don't correlate with how women dressed. Many women who were raped, happened to wear very conservative clothing. They were raped, anyway," she said. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up the task force on March 13 to implement the 2008 Pornography Law. The task force was given the mandate to curb the distribution of pornography. -- BERNAMA