Bride deposit draws scorn
Hera Diani and Muninggar Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A woman called up The Jakarta Post the other day in a panic after reading a Post article on the proposal for the government to require expatriate men to deposit some Rp 500 million (about US$50,000) before marrying an Indonesian woman.
"My sister's fiance is Dutch. And he said even if he had the money, he'd be better off investing it in a business," said the woman.
The idea was put forward in a recent Supreme Court national working meeting, the highest forum of judges from across the country. Yet, it is still unclear how and when the proposed scheme would be implemented.
A Supreme Court judge, who attended the meeting, said the idea had been floating around for the past few years.
"The judges are concerned about the poor conditions for Indonesian women, particularly when they are separated from their expatriate husbands. The women usually lost custody over their children, who automatically become expatriates, and are left with no money," said the judge who requested anonymity.
He said the judges were also aware that Egypt had implemented a "good law" to protect women.
According to a document from the national meeting, Egypt obliges a non-national to pay 25,000 Egyptian pounds at a state bank before marrying an Egyptian citizen as a bond.
"The money is not for the state, it remains the couples'. Should the mixed couple get divorced, each is entitled to half of it. The amount is only a suggestion, but we think it is appropriate as it is not cheap to raise your own children who happen to be foreign nationals," said the judge.
The scheme has sparked anger among many people in Indonesia, particularly women, who have accused the state of treating women as a commodity.
Others suspect that it is just another form of corruption and an attempt to coerce profit from expatriates.
This would add to the problems faced by mixed couples here, which are rooted in the problematic Law No. 62/1958 on citizenship that has been called discriminatory against women and children.
Dewi Tjakrawinata, an activist with an alliance that groups about 4,000 mixed parents here, said the issue had moved beyond the citizenship law.
"It's about women's dignity and basic rights. Even parents don't have the right to put a price on their daughters. And what about migrant workers married to fellow workers who are certainly not rich?" she said.
Women's activist and legal expert Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said that rather than ask for a deposit, the civil registry office should just remind every couple to make a prenuptial agreement, or transform the function of mahar (dowry) so that it became a form of insurance.
"Don't follow an Arabic country that doesn't give female citizens any independence. If the government aims to protect its female citizens, then it must make a good policy," Nursyahbani -- who is also a legislator from the National Awakening Party -- said in reference to Egypt.
Under the citizenship law, an Indonesian woman, for instance, cannot sponsor her expatriate husband and their children. So if the husband cannot secure work in the country, he must leave, preventing the family from living a normal life.
An Indonesian wife cannot claim her children either if a divorce takes place as children of mixed marriages are automatically given the father's citizenship, nor can she bequeath her wealth to her children.
There is no record of the number of mixed marriages in the country, but in Jakarta alone, at least 300 new mixed marriages are registered every year.
The House of Representatives recently decided to revise the citizenship law. However, the only "progress" in the draft law proposed is that the children of an Indonesian woman and expatriate man may be granted Indonesian citizenship, but only if it is agreed upon in a prenuptial agreement.