Headscarf the latest tsunami casualty in Aceh
Headscarf the latest tsunami casualty in Aceh
Sebastien Blanc, Agence France-Presse/Banda Aceh
Amid all the chaos in post-tsumani Aceh, the police that used to
enforce the Indonesian province's version of Islamic law has for
the time being fallen by the wayside.
As a result, some local women are taking advantage of the lack
of supervision to quietly do away with the tradition of wearing
the headscarf.
"It's much more free now. Before the tsunami, people used to
tell us all the time to wear the headscarf," explains Yanti, a
20-year-old chemistry student wearing her thick hair tied back in
a pony tail.
Under a special deal granting Aceh partial autonomy, the
Muslim stronghold enforces a limited version of Sharia law
enforced in all trials including criminal cases.
The dress code is strict, despite the tropical climate, with
its hot temperatures and stifling humidity: women must wear a
headscarf, without allowing any hair to be seen. The arms and
legs must be covered. Figure-hugging trousers are, at least in
theory, banned.
Such rules were rarely breached before the tsunami and this
largely remains the case, with those casting aside the headscarf
still very much in the minority, but people still say that
something fundamental has changed.
"It's easier for women, there's no more pressure from the
police. But the fact that more of them go out without the
headscarf is not good. If they are Muslims, they ought to wear
it," says Syamsul, a computer technician.
In the days immediately following the catastrophe, many people
lost all their belongings -- headscarves included -- but Islamic
organisations have been distributing scarves, and shops in the
regional capital that were spared by the tsunami have once again
opened their doors for business.
"I don't wear it because of the emergency," says 19-year-old
student Santi, who walks around with her head uncovered, despite
the emergency phase of operations being long-since over.
She says other women have become more religious in the wake of
the tragedy and now wear their headscarf more often than they did
before the tsunami.
But now Banda Aceh is seeing another sea change: dozens of
international groups and humanitarian organisations are setting
up shop in the centre of the town, which has never seen so many
outsiders.
Sri Maryati Habibah, 23, now works for British aid group
Oxfam. She works without her headscarf, but puts it on when she
has to deal with Indonesian members of the public.
"Teenagers from 16 to 18 are at the moment influenced by all
the foreigners that they see around without headscarves," she
explains. The province, which has been torn apart by a nearly
three-decade-long separatist conflict, has been off-limits to
foreigners since the government launched a crackdown on the
rebels in 2003.
Asked about the discretion given to the local police force
charged with enforcing Sharia law, deputy commissioner Galih
Sayudo says that while the law is in theory still applied, the
force has other priorities.
"In parts of the province affected by the tsunami, the rules
are still in force but the police concentrate on the security of
the humanitarian operations."
He says he hasn't noticed a slide in moral standards, even if
it is true that "before the tsunami the controls enforced by
women officers were more strict".
"It'll take time before the Sharia police is once again
operational," he adds, explaining that, like the rest of the
population, the force suffered heavy losses in the tsunami.
GetAFP 2.10 -- MAR 1, 2005 10:38:03