UNDERAGE marriage, marital rape, and destruction of the environment were targeted by religious edicts issued by a group of prominent female clerics in Muslim-majority Indonesia this week.
The first fatwa from the inaugural Indonesian Women’s Ulama Congress (KUPI2017) was to declare marital rape haram or “forbidden” according to Islam. The religious edicts or fatwas were debated and issued at the conclusion of the event in Cirebon, West Java, which ran from Monday to Thursday.
Sexual violence, including within marriage, is a significant problem in Indonesia.
A recent nationwide survey by the country’s government statistics body Statistics Indonesia (BPS) found that a quarter of married women had experienced violence at the hands of their husbands.
Netty Prasetyani the wife of West Java’s governor said: “I hope the results of the congress will be able to push Muslim women to be better educators for children and help reduce the prevalence of sexual violence against women.” [Asian Correspondent] Read more
