YNOT – Six people who worked in a gentlemen’s cabaret in Bandung, Indonesia, will become the first to be prosecuted under the country’s stringent new anti-pornography laws.According to police reports, four female exotic dancers “were wearing sexy clothing,” which the arresting officers assumed they donned in preparation for performing a striptease. Two male club managers also were detained. Officers confiscated “skimpy underwear” and about $200 in cash during the early morning raid on New Year’s Day.
Col. Dade Ahmad, a spokesman for the West Java provincial police, said the arrests were part of the Bandung mayor’s recently announced crackdown on “un-Islamic behavior.” Approximately 90 percent of Indonesia’s 235 million citizens are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith.
The new anti-pornography law, which prohibits many traditional cultural performances and any other activities which could be seen to have an erotic component, was passed shepherded through Parliament by conservative Muslims in 2008 despite protests by Christians, Hindus, artists and rights activists. Christian and Hindu populations primarily are confined to the larger islands, and many of the tribal women on Papua still go topless by tradition.
One women’s rights activist has vowed to help defend the dancers, calling the law too severe and biased against native cultures and women.
The dancers “are not criminals; they are only the victims of female exploitation,” Ellin Rozana told the Associated Press. “The fear we had about this law being misused to criminalize women has become reality.”
If convicted, the detainees face prison sentences of five to 10 years.
