Outrage after Indonesian official divorces teenage bride

BBC World News ^ | 4 Dec 2012 | anon

[BlackVeil]

An Indonesian official is facing calls for his resignation after it emerged he divorced a teenager by text message following four days of marriage.

Aceng Fikri, the elected head of Garut in West Java province, has publicly apologised amid the outcry. Hundreds protested against him on Tuesday.

Mr Fikri, 40, is married with three children and took the 17-year-old as his second wife in a Muslim ceremony.

He divorced her after reportedly discovering she was not a virgin.

"I would like to apologise to the public if women feel harassed, even though I didn't mean to harass anyone," Mr Fikri said.

He added that he was sorry "even though what I did was appropriately based on Shariah [law]".

Although not recognised in Indonesian law, unrecorded marriages, including religious ones, are common in the country. The marriage law says that women who are 16 can marry.

Fani Octora was 17 years old and still in high school when she married Mr Fikri in a Muslim ceremony in July that was not officially registered, correspondents say.

Mr Fikri says wife "didn't meet the specifications" She reported him to local police on Monday, accusing him of domestic violence.

...

[alexander_busek]

What did you expect? They're Muslims, still living in the 13th Century. Though I suppose that texting "i dvrc u, i dvrc u, i dvrc u!" is a new twist.

Regards,

[Rybashka]

As a divorced 17-year old, she will probably have trouble finding another husband. In the Muslim culture, the term “used merchandise” is often meant literally.

[soycd]

These disgusting perverts should be put down like the rabid dogs that they are.

[SkyDancer]

Meanwhile the teenager was killed according to Sharia law because she wasn’t a virgin when married therefor she must have had sex outside of marriage.

[lbryce]

It sort of reminds me of the days when Shii'ite warriors traveling from one point of military conflict to another during the glorious days of Jihad. Being religious zealots with sex outside of marriage strictly forbidden would get a temporary marriage license with some local hooker for the purposes of sex, and the license would expire within a certain period of time. And off to the Jihad they would go refreshed, re-energized to kill the infidels in he name of Allah.

Actually, this practice surprises me because Muhammad permitted sex with female prisoners as legitimate war booty during Jihad.

[C210N]

"i dvrc u, i dvrc u, i dvrc u!"

I don't believe you... it just cannot be that easy.

Seems to me that AT THE VERY LEAST, the "I divorce you" must be three separate texts to be official. It's gotta be that way... the mudslim *HAS* to hit the send key THRICE (not once as you claim which is way too easy).

[alexander_busek]

Meanwhile the teenager was killed according to Sharia law because she wasn’t a virgin when married therefor she must have had sex outside of marriage.

Actually, the torn hymen was probably due to a slight mishap while climbing a fence or using a feminine hygiene product or something... but, just to be on the safe side, they'd better do the right thing and stone her to death anyway.

Regards,

[USAF80]

They had a movie named, “Divorce, divorce, divorce” but the muslim men could not say that to their wives because under Islam saying divorce three times is a real divorce. I guess they had to tell the wives lets go see, “Divorce, divorce..”

[kidd]

Married four days and a text message divorce?

Most people would consider that to be prostitution or rape. But it wasn’t marriage.

[SkyDancer]

Oh yes, and also riding a horse will do it. Well there it must have been a water buffalo or a motor scooter on their bumpy roads or something. But better be on the safe side as you wrote and stone her.

Regards

[Mamzelle]

This still goes on. Lonely widows advertise for temporary weddings, especially in Iran.

[chaosagent]

And some women are just born without one.

[lbryce]

There’s an entirely new field of surgery in which the area effected is surgically enhanced to give the appearance of having never been tampered with, either by accident as in the case of it happening during equestrian pursuit or recreational endeavors. The word “virgin” means untampered with.

[SkyDancer]

Yeah but in Indonesia?

[lbryce]

This divorce by text message has been around for years. Some high-ranking religious cleric gave his approval for an easy, convenient means to divorcing your wife by sharia law. Women are chattel according to Islamic law and have no rights. Divorcing via text message has the same legal ramifications as if he facilitated the selling of a dozen camels by text.Just like selling camels, according to Sharia law divorcing a woman can take place with only one hump as well.

[SkyDancer]

I think all they have to do is text “I divorce thee” three times and it’s done.

[lbryce]

I think it's even less onerous than that.

'I Divorce Thee' X 3

There are some text devices that have the divorce decree as an option already part of the interface.

LOL

[SkyDancer]

Wow. Guess it must be a Mussie mobile company that provides that service.