Religion not a barrier for adopted parents: Orphanages

Religion not a barrier for adopted parents: Orphanages

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Workers of some orphanages and other social foundations said on
Sunday that the religion of married couples or individuals
wishing to adopt children from their organizations was not
significant.

Any Muslim, Christian or Hindu couple can adopt children of
another faith if they meet the requirements and obtain court
approval, they said.

This has always been the case for the Sayap Ibu adoption
foundation, based in Radio Dalam, South Jakarta, which cares for
at least 40 abandoned babies and toddlers under the age of five.

Suhadi, a senior staff member at Sayap Ibu (Mother's Wing),
founded in 1955, said his foundation had never stopped non-Muslim
parents from adopting babies from the organization.

"We have handed over many babies to couples for adoption and
we never questioned them about their religion. Muslims and
Christians or those of other faiths are free to adopt our
children," he told The Jakarta Post.

"As they are still very young, the children have yet to
receive religious education. So we leave that up to the new
parents to decide," he added.

The babies receiving care at Sayap Ibu come mostly from
hospitals where they were abandoned by parents after they were
born.

Orphanage workers made the statement as the House of
Representatives postponed the child protection bill on Thursday
after the nation's Islamic authority criticized the draft law.

The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) demanded that Article
37, Paragraph 3 of the bill be revised to suggest that parents
must be the same religion as adopted children.

The bill stipulates that the parents should be of the same
religion as adopted children.

Other orphanages, including the Aria Putra foundation based in
Ciputat, Tangerang, and the Vincentius Putri foundation in Kramat
Raya, Central Jakarta, also claim that they never discriminated
against Muslims or non-Muslim children in providing them with
care.

Munadi, an activist at Aria Putra, said that even though his
foundation currently cares for 75 orphans, who are all Muslims,
it never refused taking in non-Muslim children.

"However, we once had a Christian join us, and he became
isolated because most of the activities were in Islamic-oriented
programs. That's why we sent him to another (Christian)
foundation," he told the Post.

The Vincentius orphanage cares for 147 Catholic, Christian and
Muslim children. Most parents who adopt the children share the
same religion, a foundation worker said.

"But actually, we never ask about the religion of couples
wishing to adopt or give children a home," said Tini at the
orphanage.

Activists from child organizations lamented the House's move
to delay the endorsement of the draft law over a non-substantive
issue.

They said religion should not prevent parents from giving
love, protection and guardianship to children of different
faiths.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the executive director of the Children
in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) Center, rejected MUI's
proposal, arguing that it contravened the 1989 Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which Indonesia ratified one year later.

He said the convention stipulated that children of certain
faiths must not be discriminated against in receiving protection
or have their best interests of receiving good care prioritized.

"The bill on child protection should refer to the
international convention as a consequence of the Indonesian
government's decision to ratify it," Arist told the Post.

He said the religious issue should not have been politicized
so as to postpone the endorsement of the much-awaited bill.

A similar view was also expressed by National Commission for
Child Protection director Seto Mulyadi, who said the bill's
deliberation should not lead to issues related to religion, race
or ethnics.

"The House should be wise in discussing the bill. Should a
religious matter necessarily hinder anybody from adopting a
child?" he asked.

Under a ministerial decree issued in 1983, parents have to
obtain an endorsement from a local district court to adopt a
child. They must show financial documents to judges who then
examine them before two witnesses.

After that, adopting parents have to submit a court approval
to apply for a new birth certificate for the adopted child.

The decree does not require adopting couples to be of the same
religion as the adopted child.