"Moderate" Indonesia: City to ban women "straddling motorbikes"
Sharia, it empowers women. Obama say, "respect it!"
Indonesia city to ban women 'straddling motorbikes' BBC News
A city in the Indonesian province of Aceh which follows Sharia has ordered female passengers not to straddle motorbikes behind male drivers.Suaidi Yahya, mayor of Lhokseumawe, says it aims to save people's "morals and behaviours".
Leaflets have been sent out to government offices and residents to inform them about the regulation.
Aceh is the only Indonesian province that follows Sharia.
Under the new regulation, the mayor says that women passengers are only allowed to sit "side-saddle" because straddling the bike seat violates Islamic values.
"When you see a woman straddle, she looks like a man. But if she sits side-saddle, she looks like a woman," Suaidi said.
He added that passengers who sat side-saddle rarely fell off.
The local government will be evaluating the regulation in a month, after which it could turn into a by-law, he added.
When asked if women who did not follow the rule would be punished, Suaidi said: "Once it has become a by-law, automatically there will be sanctions."
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