Indonesia Canes Two Men for Homosexuality

Homosexuality has become a more widely known and accepted within recent years, but for a long time it has been condemned and tabooed by many around the world.  It is with great fortune that homosexuality and the LGBT community is well-integrated within American society in this modern era.  But, not all societies share the same views as the United States.  Indonesia, for instance, still follows an order that does not accept such beliefs.

On Tuesday, May 23, two gay men were publicly caned, countless times, in front of a large audience in Aceh, Indonesia.  They were punished for consensual gay sex with one another in a country that intensified anti-gay backlash.  Rights advocates condemned this act by Indonesia, calling this punishment “medieval torture”.

It was reported that more than “a thousand people packed the courtyard of a mosque to witness the caning, which was the first time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Sharia law, has caned people for homosexuality.”  It seems very similar to incidents of hangings during the Medieval Ages, in which many city-folks would flock towards a town square to watch some form of capital punishment.  Such punishment would be made public to ward off any others who considered committing a similar crime or act of “injustice”.

The New York Post writes, “The crowd shouted insults and cheered as the men, ages 20 and 23, were whipped across the back and winced with pain.  Many in the crush of spectators filmed the caning with cellphones as a team of five robed and hooded enforcers took turns to inflict the punishment, relieving one another after every 20 strokes for one of the men and 40 for the other.”  Student Sarojini Mutia Irfan, who was in the crowd supporting the act, says, “What they have done is like a virus that can harm people’s morale.  This kind of public punishment is an attempt to stop the spread of the virus to other communities in Aceh.”

Suspected of being together by neighbors and those who were dubbed “vigilantes” within the community, they were watched with a close eye.  In March, they were arrested after the “[vigilantes] broke into their rented room to catch them having sex.”

Homosexuality is not a crime in Indonesia (with an exception of Aceh), but the LGBT community within the country has maintained its low-profile due to condemnation and criticism from others within society.  Politicians and devout Muslims seek to push for the criminalization of homosexuality and sex outside marriage due to religious and political beliefs.

Regardless of this act of punishment, Indonesia continues to debate about the topic of homosexuality within society while remaining true to its Islamic beliefs.  Whether the two can coexist together is a question that has yet to be answered.