Saving Kartini<\/p>\n
An Indonesian maid in the United Arab Emirates has been
\nsentenced to death by stoning.<\/p>\n
Indonesia must save Kartini at all costs from this brutal
\nlegal murder and join forces with Amnesty International, the
\nmedia and perhaps the world, and bring to light that by 2000,
\nstoning a person to death is intentional torture by the first
\ndegree.<\/p>\n
As matured adults, we are civilized enough to know that such a
\ndeath penalty for a nonhideous crime is inhuman, brutal. When a
\ncountry says this or that human being is not worth saving, it
\ncheapens the rest of us; it brutalizes the rest of us and we
\ncould become a more violent society.<\/p>\n
The case of 35-year-old Kartini is that of an Indonesian maid
\nwith no academic background, who set forth from her country where
\nthe economic situation is in a recession only to meet with a
\ndestiny that wants to claim her life, sentenced to death by
\nstoning for committing adultery by an Islamic Tribunal court in
\nUnited Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/p>\n
The UAE is a member of the United Nation, where it is
\nresponsible and committed to the Human Rights treat. A crime that
\nhad harmed no one in this context except for the fact that she
\nconceived a baby who will soon be without a mother and a father.
\nA so-called crime that is, actually, only a civil social problem.<\/p>\n
According to the UAE court, she had an affair with another
\nforeign national (two consenting adults) not with a UAE citizen.
\nThe alleged key witness to this so-called crime has disappeared.
\nLending a doubtful ear to the Jakarta rumor mill, who really did
\nit? Kartini grew up in Indonesia, where the laws are more
\nmoderate and civilized; where her own people and government are
\nreasonable.<\/p>\n
Kartini does not deserve to be stoned to death and neither
\ndoes anyone else for that matter. It is strange to note that the
\npeople of Indonesia received this awful cruel news only after her
\nsentencing. Why was there no news prior to the sentencing? or was
\nit kept muffled? are questions we should ponder or act on. Was
\nthe ambassador of Indonesia to the Emirates aware of this
\nterrible predicament?<\/p>\n
We must condemn the act of stoning a human being. The
\ngovernment should further protect Indonesian women by not
\nallowing them to obtain work permits to countries that treat
\nwomen as outright slaves, where death penalties are meted for
\npetty crimes, social misconduct or even for sex.<\/p>\n
If one were to lament that adultery should be made a crime,
\nthen how many of you reading this deserve to be punished,
\nincluding the male gender? Sex and adultery are social problems,
\nnot crimes. Even in countries like Singapore, which has laws for
\nadultery, it is a law used not to arrest people but maturely used
\nas grounds for divorce in civil cases. The police do not go
\naround arresting people and checking to see who is sleeping with
\nwhom. I disagree with Indonesia's foreign minister, Alwi Shihab,
\nwho, according to media reports, said that the maid should be
\npunished in Indonesia for her bad behavior.<\/p>\n
If this is so, then he must also punish all those who keep
\nfour wives, (how allowable is this in the holy book?), those with
\nmistresses and so forth.<\/p>\n
LOREEN NEVILLE<\/p>\n
Publisher of<\/p>\n
Roving Insight<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/saving-kartini-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }