Jakarta: Women`s groups expressed
outrage on Tuesday after Indonesia`s parliament said it would draft
rules banning female lawmakers from wearing "provocative"
clothing such as miniskirts to work and claimed such dress
invited rape.
"We know there have been a lot of rape cases and other
immoral acts recently, and this is because women aren`t
wearing appropriate clothes," house of representatives speaker
Marzuki Alie said.
"Women wearing inappropriate clothes arouse men, so it
needs to be stopped. You know what men are like -- provocative
clothing will make them do things."
Refrizal, the deputy head of the household affairs
committee, which is spearheading the new regulation, told AFP
that "miniskirts and skimpy clothes are an invitation to male
lawmakers".
The move was also backed by two female house members
who formerly worked as fashion models, local media reported.
Indonesian women`s rights groups said they were
outraged by the comments and called for a stop to the
demonisation of rape victims.
"It`s ridiculous that this is again coming from the
mouths of prominent people with influence," Action for Women
Against Rape founder Chicka Noya told AFP.
"We expect them to make regulations to protect women
from violence, not condemn them for the way they dress."
The comments come just six months after the Jakarta
governor, Fauzi "Foke" Bowo, made similar remarks, saying that
a spate of rape cases on the city`s public minibuses were
triggered by victims` miniskirts.
He urged Indonesian women to refrain from wearing
miniskirts on public transport.
His remarks prompted a protest in which women yelled
the slogan "My miniskirt, my right. Foke you", referring to
the governor`s nickname.
The protest was inspired by the global "SlutWalk"
phenomenon, which began in Toronto last year as hundreds
protested about a comment made by a police constable that
"women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be
victimised".
PTI
