Indonesian City Bans Women from Working Late at Night
A city in Indonesia recently began enforcing a new regulation that bans women from working after 11 o’clock at night. The regulation has produced a mix of reactions among Indonesians.
The law took effect last week in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province.
Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal is the mayor of Banda Aceh. She is the city’s first female mayor.
Ms. Djamal says the Aceh provincial administration approved the law in early June. She says she later made a few changes, based on the situations and conditions in Banda Aceh.
The law is directed at women who work in what officials are calling recreational areas, such as Internet cafés, coffee shops and sports centers.
Azriana, who like many Indonesians has only one name, is chair of Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women.
She says the new law is unnecessary because Aceh’s labor laws already control operating hours for businesses.
“If the Mayor says that the number of cases of sexual violence is high, the problem is in men’s minds, not the women’s. So, restricting women’s spaces is not the answer to this problem.”
