Indonesia pushes for gay, pre-marital sex ban


Indonesia will make gay sex illegal as a part of a raft of sweeping new laws critics blame on a wave of religious fundamentalism.


The proposed shake up, which also takes aim at condom use and adultery, continues to win unprecedented support ahead of the 2019 presidential elections.

It comes after parliamentary speaker Bambang Soesatyo called this week for a crackdown on the LGBT community's 'excesses'.


The country's health ministry announced it would release a medical guide classifying homosexuality as a 'mental disorder'.

Gay sex is currently legal everywhere in secular Indonesia except for Aceh where it is banned under the semi-autonomous province's Islamic law.

But that may soon change. Parliament is drawing up the new code with all the major political parties reportedly on board.

The draft is expected to be tabled in the coming months.

Wide swathes of Indonesian society, including heterosexual couples who might face jail for having sex outside wedlock or having an affair, may be affected if the laws pass.

Government officials, religious hardliners and influential Islamic groups have lined up to make anti-LGBT statements in public recently.

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