Demonstrations across the country to mark International Women's Day also called on the government to reduce basic commodity prices and do more to stop crimes where women were victimised, like human trafficking and domestic violence.

In Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, around 1,000 women protested against what they said was the unfair implementation of sharia law in the province.

Activists told The Associated Press the "sharia police" -- religious vigilantes enforcing the rules -- were detaining women who did not wear traditional Muslim headscarves or were found walking outside at night unaccompanied by a man.

The women said the laws were unfair as they curtailed women's freedoms but not men's.

About 200 women rallied in Jakarta to voice their opposition to the pornography bill, which is currently before the House of Representatives. The bill if passed would encroach on basic freedoms, including the right to personal expression, they said.

Marching from the State Palace to the House of Representatives building, the women said the controversial bill was a move back to the bad old days where women had little autonomy.

The bill bans people from kissing in public and fines or jails women for exposing "sensitive" body parts, which could include their hair, shoulders and legs.

Artists could also be prosecuted for including nudity in their works.

The women said the bill targeted women without examining the core issues in pornography that mostly involved men, capitalism and the patriarchal system.

The bill has been supported by Muslim organisations throughout the country. Muslims account for an estimated 92 per cent of country's total population.

Supermodel Olga Lidya, who joined the protest, said the bill blamed women for being the cause of moral degradation.

"The government should instead focus on improving education," she said. Pornography definitions had already been incorporated into the existing Criminal Code but were never properly enforced, she said.

The protesters called for the government to focus more of its attention on cases of human trafficking and domestic violence, two issues they said were being overlooked by the administration.

In Surabaya and Yogyakarta, demonstrators also called on the government to decrease fuel prices and abandon a proposed electricity price hike. High prices for basic commodities ended up hurting women and children the most, they said.

Women also needed better working conditions, including regulations for more maternity leave, they said.

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Women Don't Want Anti Porn Law

The Jakarta Post, 2/6/06 - Activists from several NGOs dealing with women's issues on Saturday came out against the much-debated pornography bill, which they claimed would repress women.

The bill, which was drafted in part to protect women from exploitation, would have the opposite effect of placing limits on women's expression and freedoms, the activists said.

"We have always acknowledged pornography as a disease that must be eradicated, but not through a repressive law," said Vivi Widyawati of the Mahardhika Women's Working Group.

The activists say a bill that limits and criminalizes women's sexuality would never bear fruit.

The draft, if passed, would lead to the establishment of the National Anti-Pornography Agency, which would have the authority to fine or arrest anyone it considered to be acting "indecently" or violating the country's "moral code".

"The law criminalizes the victims, the ones exploited by pornography, and not the ones who exploit them," said Vivi.

The NGOs fear the national agency, which the NGOs refer to as the "morality police", could be abused by the authorities to meddle in the private lives of citizens in the name of morality.

"The government should make use of the laws we already have on the books (to stop pornography)," said Vivi.

She said the laws on child protection, human trafficking and the protection of witnesses, as well as the Criminal Code, already gave authorities the power they need to fight pornography.

Instead of passing this new draft, the NGOs urged the government to focus its efforts on introducing sex education programs in schools to teach children about sexuality, and limiting the distribution and access to pornography, both in the media and on the streets.

"Early sex education is urgently needed to help people understand sexuality," said Mariana Amiruddin of Women's Journal Foundation.

The NGOs also believe the draft's definition of pornography is biased and out of line with already existing definitions. The groups themselves define pornography as the "business of sexually exploiting women for commercial purposes".

A dictionary definition of pornography would be "the depiction of erotic behavior to cause sexual excitement".

The activists want the government's definition of pornography to contain several specific points, including that women are the main objects, or victims, of pornography, and that women are the victims of sexual abuse caused by pornography.

"There is no fair or effective way to categorize one's values or morality," said Vivi in discussing the moral values used by legislators as their guideline in drafting the pornography bill.

She said women who were drawn into pornography never became involved willingly, but were victims of exploitation.

"The problem of victims being pulled into pornography has always been due to multidimensional and multi-interpretational problems," said Vivi, adding that one of the factors included poverty.

The NGOs that united to denounce the pornography bill included Arus Pelangi, Institut Ungu, LBH Apik, Pokja Perempuan Mahardhika, Sekar, Srikandi Demokrasi Indonesia, the National Secretariat of Women's Coalitions and the Women's Journal Foundation, in addition to individuals also concerned by the issue.

"Societies that base themselves on patriarchal thoughts have always considered the woman's body as taboo," said Mariana from the Women's Journal Foundation.

"We, women, have always been blamed for man's inability to restrain his sexual desires," she said.

Balinese Leaders Reject Porn Law

At the end of a seminar on the bill here Saturday, the groups demanded the legislation be dropped because it contained no clear-cut definition of pornography.

The legislation also threatened press freedom and allowed the state to control citizens' basic rights, they said.

"We see no urgency in having the bill because issues pertaining to pornography have been regulated in other bills, such as the Criminal Code, Press Law and the Broadcasting Law," they said in a statement.

The groups planned to file a petition against the bill with the House of Representatives

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