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.