Indonesia head mulls polygamy ban - sparkes angry reaction.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6216130.stm
Indonesia head mulls polygamy ban
Proposals by Indonesia's president to restrict the right of the country's public servants to practice polygamy have sparked an angry reaction.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed extending a law banning the taking of multiple wives to all public servants.
Currently anyone not a civil servant in the predominantly Muslim country is allowed to marry up to four wives. But a tightening of the law, which bans polygamy under the constitution, could also affect ordinary citizens.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson, in Jakarta, says that some of the loudest opposition to the president's plan has come from Indonesia's mainstream Muslim parties.
Rarely restricted
They argue that restricting the practice, which they say is sanctioned by the Koran, will lead to increased levels of adultery. Muslim men who are not working as civil servants are currently allowed to marry up to four wives as defined by Islamic teaching.
Government spokesmen in Indonesia say that rule will be expanded to cover all lawmakers, ministers and other government officials. Under current laws, Muslim men may marry a second time only if their first wife is infertile, ill or absent, however these restrictions are rarely enforced.
The decision to update the country's polygamy code comes just days after popular Indonesian cleric, Abdullah Gymnastiar, caused uproar by announcing he had secretly married a second wife.
The cleric was seen by many as a model husband and a promoter of family values.Our correspondent says it is not clear how prevalent polygamy is in Indonesia. Many observers believe it has increased in recent years, while others say it has simply become more open.
Cleric's 2nd wife sparks polygamy debate (Polygamy Juice)
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By Sugita Katyal
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A popular Indonesian Islamic cleric's decision to take a second wife has sparked a fiery debate about polygamy laws in the world's largest Muslim country where multiple marriages are only banned among civil servants.
The turban-clad but leather-jacketed Abdullah Gymnastiar's announcement prompted the government to consider extending the ban to lawmakers, a move that sent many legislators leaping to the defense of polygamy arguing that it is allowed under Islam.
"If the government wants to regulate polygamy, it has to do it correctly because Islam allows polygamy with some strict conditions," Ichwan Sam, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, an umbrella group of Muslim clerics, told Reuters.
"There should not be an impression that government regulations or laws are reducing religious teachings."
The controversy began when Gymnastiar, a 40-something preacher with the style of a televangelical and the fan following of a rock star, announced he had taken a second wife, unleashing a torrent of angry text messages and e-mails, media reports said.
"Polygamy is indeed allowed, but don't put lust above everything else" or "Don't sell out your religion," said some of the messages in response to Gymnastiar's second marriage.
Gymnnastiar, popularly called as "Aa Gym" or elder brother Gym, is a household name in Indonesia because of his relaxed sermons on Islam that strike a chord with ordinary people charmed by his chatty, youthful style and effervescent smile.
His moderate tone, use of hi-technology and hobbies such as riding Harley Davidsons set him apart from stereotypical clerics
Women tend to be monogamous, that's how their software is. But men, you know ... their software is different," the Jakarta Post quoted Gymnastiar as saying in a sermon when asked if he had married again.
Women's activists say polygamy should be completely banned.
"In our marriage law, our principle is monogamy ... but the law puts polygamy as an exit in the worst situation," Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a leading feminist lawyer and member of parliament, told Reuters.
"For me, polygamy is discrimination or like apartheid. If your husband doesn't like you he can get rid of you."
"Polygamy Juice"
Though uncommon among ordinary Indonesians, polygamy has some prominent advocates such as restaurateur Puspo Wardoyo who has four wives, and has been at the forefront of a campaign to promote multiple marriages.
His popular chain of restaurants is known for items like "Polygamy juice," a mixture of four tropical fruits, and "Polygamy Vegetables, a four-vegetable combo.
But activists pushing for a ban on polygamy, which goes back to the Javanese sultans, say it is a form of female subjugation.
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid's wife, Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, was a prominent opponent of multiple marriages. A little more than two years ago she led a group of protesters who blocked the delivery of packed lunches from Wardoyo's chain.
More recently, an arthouse film sparked some soul-searching with stories of three women in polygamous relationships: a rich doctor, a waitress and a poor shantytown girl.
"Although these women possess different feelings, some things are the same: the sadness and denials behind their smiles," Nia Dinata, the director of "Berbagi Suami," or sharing a husband, said in an interview some months ago.
(Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia)