Banda Aceh imposes curfew on women working at night

JAKARTA — The capital of Indonesia’s devoutly Muslim province of Aceh has imposed restrictions on women working after 11pm to prevent crime. 

Women who work in places such as sports and entertainment centres as well as tourism spots should go home by 11pm, under a directive that took effect on June 4, said Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal.

Children and women are advised not to be in such places after 10pm unless they are accompanied by a male relative, she said. “Women in Aceh are vulnerable to sexual harassment, so we want to protect them from untoward incidents,” said Ms Illiza. 

A recent study by parenting and children foundation Kita dan Buah Hati found that cases of sexual harassment were higher in Aceh than in any other province in Indonesia.  

Employers may lose their business licence if they flout the directive, but there will be no punishment for women who break the curfew, she said. “They will be asked to go home and be given a warning.”

Women in some professions such as nursing are exempted from the curfew, Ms Illiza added. 

Syariah law has been in force in Aceh since the early 2000s as part of Jakarta’s attempts to pacify demands for independence. In 2005, the government and separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement signed a peace deal ending decades of armed conflict, which had claimed about 15,000 lives. 

Drinking, gambling and mixing with the opposite sex while unmarried are punishable by public caning in the province. North Aceh, one of the districts in the province, passed a legislation last month requiring schools to teach boys and girls separately, and prohibiting the two sexes from riding motorcycles together.

In April, the district also approved a series of Islamic by-laws, which include a requirement for the Koran to be read every night and a ban on “live” music performances. The regulation was submitted to the provincial government for approval, and is slated to come into effect next April. 

“What we do now will be just like what is happening in traditional Islamic boarding schools,” said Mr Fauzan Hamzah, a member of the North Aceh district legislature, on the separation of boys and girls in schools. AGENCIES