AFP is reporting that Sharia police in Indonesia’s Aceh province have been armed with 20,000 skirts in its battle against unIslamic figure-hugging or short outfits on women. Women will be told to put on the skirts to adhere to Islamic values.
West Aceh district chief Ramli Mansur explained “Female offenders can then immediately change their tight pants to the long, loose skirts if the sharia police catch them.”
Mansur added that he hoped that he would now be able to “answer to God” on what he did to enforce morality laws” “We’ll increase raids on sharia offenders here. In the hereafter, God will ask me to be responsible for what I’ve done during my term in West Aceh.” His answer? I followed around women in the streets carrying armloads of tent-like dresses.
For the full story, click here.
Why is there a picture of clothes from Afghanistan in an article on Indonesia? Those countries are 5000 km apart and are completely different. Also, the picture quite obviously shows a veil rather than a skirt – is that an editorial mistake?
When I see the behavior and listen to the rhetoric of some of today’s Christians, all I can think is they are the REAL American Taliban. They’d just love to stop women from being all uppity.
I agree with Moe – having lost nine years of my life in Catholic schools in the 70’s, our skirt was not 2.5 inches below the knees, and the top button on our blouses not buttoned, we were sent home.
All the more reason why to keep religion in the houses of worship, and not in the the houses of law.
This sounds familiar to any female who grew up in Catholic schools in the 50’s-60’s iwth the nuns.
In high school, the principal patroled the corridors with a yard stick and pulled over anyone suspected of having a ‘too short’ skirt. If it was found to violate the “inches from the floor’ rule, scissors were whipped out of those mysterious and enormous nun pockets and the hem threads were cut. (Mothers particulary were fond of this when said girls came home from school.)
At the senior prom a nun stood at the entrance with boxs of fabdric pieces and tissues to ‘correct’ any gown that was too ‘low in front’ or had insufficiently modest straps.
Of course, there’s the old urban legend that patent leather shoes were not allowed because boys could look upon the relection and thus see up our skirts. Never ran into that one.
Somebody gotta be doing something all of the time. That’s they way Physics works. I am sure they believe in what they are doing. Just like other religions in the US that we consider fringe. However, in these countries, the religion is the Law. How can anyone argue with the Establishment clause. Oh, you can’t.