Komnas Perempuan: RUU PKS Drafted Based on Islamic Values

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A commissioner of the National Commission of Human Rights for Women (Komnas Perempuan), Masruchah, said that the draft bill concerning the elimination of sexual violence (RUU PKS) was drafted based on Islamic values that honoring women.

“That minor opinion (from people who protest the law), in my opinion, means that they have not yet read the draft or the academic file completely,” Masruchah told Tempo in Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel, Jakarta, Thursday, January 31.

The opposition was brought up following the petition initiated by Maimon Herawati, a lecturer at Padjajaran University on a website Change.org. She considered that the RUU PKS legalized free sex because of the lack of sexual violence regulation which is sexual intercourse that violating social and religious norms.

Read: Women's Group Reveal Increasing Number of Sexual Violence  

Masruchah refuted Maimon’s statement, saying that the basis of RUU PKS is voices of sexual violence victims. The policy, she asserted, aimed at enhancing human dignity, and that is adjusted to Islamic values.

“Violence against women cannot be tolerated by religions, and the country has a responsibility to fulfill the rights of women,” she added.

According to Masruchah, the academic document and the bill were drafted by involving a number of organizations, including Islam-based groups, such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that underline the importance of regulation on the elimination of sexual violence.

Despite the rejection, Masruchah went on, Komnas Perempuan would continuously support the issuance of RUU PKS for the sake of the victims of sexual violence and the nation.

FRISKI RIANA