Bride deposit draws scorn
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.