The Prabumulih Chief Education Municipal Office HM. Rasyid has announced a controversial plan to conduct a virginity test to the female student. That test is a respond from the massive of free sex and prostitution activity among student. Rasyid also mention that he already proposed the plan budget and need to be approve by the local parliament. In a short time that plans triggered a public outcry that express critic over the plan, responding to the public outcry HM. Rasyid has declined the plan. However the idea was first announced is gaining support from politician, public bureaucrat and civilian. So even though the plan is drop, the logic is still there.
One of the supporters is Hasrul Azwar the vice chairman of PPP Party one of the oldest Islamic party in Indonesia. On the other side of Indonesia, Zainal Alim the Secretary of MUI (Indonesia Ulama Council) Pamekasan, East Java, even go quite far to promoting the virginity test as a law and obligate all female students to take it.
The supporters of the plan believe that the virginity test is the significant tool to cover and protecting morality. Of course there is other factor such as agenda to spend the national budget using any program even how insignificant and irrational the program is, it common in Indonesia public policy method, but the morality and sexuality discourse toward virginity test is the main concern, since that’s where the logic of discrimination lies.
To put moral standard on women personal attitude is not the first time in Indonesia, many believe that women should act properly in certain manner and moral standard. Previously Lhoksumawe Mayor published a letter that pushed all women to not spread their leg during riding the motorcycle. In Banten there was an idea to forbid women to go out above 9pm. There are two major point that we can see from issues above, first it related with moral issue and protecting women. Second it’s all happened in political level, the mayor, local municipal, and politician are the one who announces the plan.
The issue of youth prostitution and free sex is absolutely shocking for all of Indonesian, indeed it has to be tackled. But using virginity test is absolutely abusing women rights on secrecy of their genital, moreover women sexuality. And indeed it is quite surprising on the interest of Indonesian bureaucrat and politician on morality, they are tend to define the problem of decreasing morality such as prostitution and free sex is caused by women attitude. It’s not hard to define that it’s a discriminative idea regarding women as a single caused of moral decay among youth.
We may argue on the reason, the bureaucrat and politician always using the rhetoric such as “For the own sake of the student, and our future morality, etc.” Since massive corruption and sex gratification among politician and bureaucrat, Indonesian has reason not to believe on any words regarding morality from the politician. However what is worrisome is this kind of virginity test is another hidden agenda to found a legal basis for discrimination.
Indonesian political history has full with sense of political discrimination toward minority group, ethnic, and religion. Just to remind in 1958 Nationality Law published SKBRI (Letter of Prove Republic of Indonesia Citizenship) for Chinese minority that pushed the Indonesian Chinese to use that letter to have access any regular basis service for common citizen. In 1965, Indonesian government has stigmatize the ex-communist party member with obligate them to used red id-card, so any government official easy to recognize them, and forbid them to serve any post in the government or public service.
Those two cases are example how state discrimination is using a legal frame work through public policy, so any other citizen hold justification to discriminate the Chinese and the Communist in any level of social life. The massacre in 1965-1970 against the communist, raped, robbed and killing the Chinese in 1998 are the products of such as discrimination.
And this virginity test is potential to be another form of discrimination. Lets say the student has taken the test and she failed test, she is un-virgin. What will happen after? The unclear agenda of the government is the space where the logic of discrimination lies. First it makes a fine line, between Chinese and Indigenous, Communist and Non-Communist, and it follows with stigma as unnationalistic Chinese and atheist communist. The same method to stigmatize could apply for virgin and un-virgin students. Virginity as legal basis that politicize by the state is not new thing, some government institutions in Indonesia especially the semi-military one, take virginity as compulsory requirement for recruitment.
The most ugly form of discrimination is where the discriminator act based on natural order to find a reason for discriminate against certain group. In regard of virginity, we already found how Regent Aceng Fikri divorcing his young wife because she already un-virgin, according to former Regent Aceng marrying un-virgin women its like buying a clothes that already broken. So the divorce to the broken/un-virgin women is legalize in natural logic order.
To be clear most of Indonesian is against free sex among youth and youth prostitution, but bringing virginity test as solution is another problem that could be as worst as the main problem. Before drop the plan due to the public outcry, the local departments of education propose or accept the plan as visible solution, rather than promoting sex education, religious teaching, or any preventing effort, they choosing virginity test. And the most surprisingly we found many of Indonesian, whether its politician or civilian supporting the plan.
That’s why fighting this kind of discrimination is not done after the local municipal drop and decline the plan, it’s the logic of discrimination that we need to criticize and indeed it’s a long term battle.
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