The Pope Sees the Light...

Pope Benedict XVI has seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not Jesus. The Pope, God bless his soul, has finally worked out that abstinence, although the best solution, is not a reality that the Catholic Church can make happen. Well, not unless they start forcibly restraining unmarried or un-partnered couples.

Condoms, particularly the use of them, are not a 100% effective way of preventing the spread of STD or STI. However, they do significantly better than the option of taking a shower without a raincoat. In any event, the Pope's support is not blanket support for the idea that the Catholic Church facilitate a program of condom distribution through its parishes.

The Pope's support suggests that prostitutes, and in particular male prostitutes,would be beginning to act responsibly if they were to start using condoms. I might have to go out and get the book from which the Pope's comments are sourced: Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times. And, the news story that I pilfered for this piece was quoting from excerpts that were published in The Vatican rag, L’Osservatore Romano.

The Catholic Church has adopted a position that is anti-condom use. It has maintained this position in the face of some intense and harsh criticism. So, is this statement by the Pope indicative of a softening in the position of the Catholic Church? No, it is not. The Pope was very explicit in restricting his comments to a very narrow range of condom use. His choice of male prostitutes was undoubtedly a conscious one that was sort to deflect any concerns about condoms being used as a contraceptive device. The position of the Catholic Church with respect to the use of condoms as a form of contraception remains unchanged.

Yet, when it is all said and done, there is an argument to be made that this may in fact be a first step in recognising that the issue of HIV / AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease and infection is an issue that transcends simple arguments of morality. It is an issue that has and will continue to be a measure of the times in which we live, particularly if you live in Africa or Asia.

Progress is progress even if it is in small and scripted steps.

Bali & HIV...

The National AIDS Commission of Indonesia has reported that one in four of some 8,000 sex workers in Bali  are HIV positive. For the percentage inclined, that is 25%. The data also shows a corresponding spike in infection rates. This is primarily being discussed as an issue of heterosexual men having unprotected sex with HIV+ sex workers and then going home to infect their partners.

Official figures record Bali as having 3,181 case of HIV infection. This figure does not includes a spike of 18.7% over the past 12 months, which sees that figure rise a further 596 cases to a total of 3,778. It is expected that if the government does not become much more pro-active in tackling HIV/AIDS through more comprehensive education and prevention strategies that this number is likely to increase.

On a somewhat scarier note, the Commission reports that it estimates that the figures represent about 15% of the 'true' number of infections. This is about where UNAIDS stands on HIV infections in Indonesia. UNAIDS estimates that there are at least 270,000 Indonesians living with HIV.

West Java, Papua and Bali seem to be the provinces most effected and affected by HIV / AIDS. To be honest, I am surprised that the number is not even higher still.

On a more positive note. The fact that more HIV cases are being reported may be indicative of more people becoming more willing to be tested and treated in the event they are positive. Also in the positive side of the equation is that there are regulations in place that prohibit discrimination against HIV+ people in the workplace. I appreciate that there is a difference between having regulations in place and enforcement. However, it must be noted that the regulations are their and people can avail themselves of the opportunity to address any discrimination that they may be exposed to in the workplace.

Hopefully, it will not be too far into the future that we will have a vaccine to prevent further infections and a cure for those already infected.

"The Sex Business Behind Bars"...

I was reading The Jakarta Globe earlier on. Unfortunately, this is not the post to bag the Riady clan out over the quality of their publications. But, one can always get a good little chuckle reading the agenda that rears its head between the lines. It should not be too long and they will dispense with the charade, like Rupert Murdoch has done, and just get on with the job of trying to convince people they are legitimate alternative news providers.

Anyways, "The Sex Business Behind Bars". Now SCTV has produced a documentary on the sex business as it happens in Indonesian prisons. The fact that sex happens in prison should not be a shocker to anyone, the fact that in Indonesian prisons (and a whole lot of prisons elsewhere in the world) it is possible to 'benefit' from the services of prostitutes is not really much of a revelation either. Nevertheless, the hidden camera footage of the business end of these transactions being done might have been more revealing than the act itself, particularly with respect to 'who' was facilitating this.

Yet, this is only a story because SCTV claim that the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has been onto them, and at them, non-stop to pull the show from their programming schedule. The Ministry has also made it known that it intends to investigate. So, let them investigate. There is nothing from stopping them from launching an internal investigation on the issue, even without having seen the documentary or getting a copy of it before or after it is shown on the idiot box (aka television).

Yet, it seems that all manner of groups will be joining in the investigation phase, and will be presumably investigating each other. The media have vowed to investigate the pressure the Ministry has allegedly been exerting as this is considered to be a form of censorship. And, censorship is a restriction of the freedom of speech. Ho hum...

However, the Ministry spokesperson, Martua Batubara, has gone on the record to say that the only request from the Ministry is for a copy of the tape after it is shown for the Ministry's documentation (and presumably archiving) purposes. This would not strike me as a particularly onerous request in light of the fact that SCTV would have already shown the documentary. Now, if the request was for a pre-screening and then some sort of editorial right to alter the content, then that would be an issue of interference. Yet, when it is all said and done, SCTV could still conceivably run the gauntlet and tell the Ministry to bugger off and just go ahead and screen the documentary.

What is not clear from The Jakarta Globe article is just why SCTV has apparently bowed to the Ministry demand. Is there the threat of legal action along the lines of "You show this program and we will commence immediate legal action and sue you into bankruptcy and then out of business!"? The idea that there is hidden camera footage in the documentary suggests that SCTV was not entirely up-front with prison officials as to what they were doing whilst inside prisons, or outside prison and dealing with prison officials.

So, I guess the point is I still really do not feel any the wiser with respect to why SCTV pulled the plug.

Well, I might have to do a quick survey of the Indonesian language news sites and see what is trending over in Indonesian news-land. If I learn anything, then I might post it here as a postscript.

Honey...Go Turn A Trick, I Am Broke!

Seriously, desperate times call for desperate measures. As you, my loyal readers know, I am always out searching for the weird and wonderful tidbits of news from around the traps. Usually, this is either Indonesia or Australia. Here is a story out of West Sulawesi in Indonesia.

A local man in West Sulawesi thought that it would be a good idea to get into politics. He campaigned vigorously for a seat in the local West Sulawesi parliament. Unfortunately, he came up short. It did not become apparent just how unfortunate this was until some time later.

The candidate, Haerul Asri, spent all of his own money and then money that he borrowed in failing to win the parliamentary seat. It was not long before the debt collectors came knocking and calling in the markers that Asri had left all over town. Asri had owned a successful motor bike trading business prior to his failed bid for the parliament, but it would seem his motor bike business endured similar fortunes to that of his political campaign.

Unable to pay back his debts, Asri needed a quick fix, a money fix that is. For some reason Asri figured the quickest way to get the cash to pay of his debts was to force his wife to have sex for money. So, Asri started offering up his wife of 14 years, and the mother of his two children, to his friends and colleagues. The going rate was IDR 300K up to IDR 500K (depending on the service?).

Under duress, regular beatings and the threat of death, the wife reluctantly serviced some of Asri's friends. This arrangement did not last long and the wife fled back to her home village of Samarinda in East Kalimantan.

The court case is underway and Asri faces up to 15 years in the slammer for his vile debt payment plan.

Seriously, what makes a man think that he can treat women, and more specifically his wife, in such a heinous way?

(Story and photo sourced from The Jakarta Globe)

Kuta Cowboys -- Gigolos, Prostitutes, or Self-Employed Entrepreneurs?

A recent documentary exploring the life and times of Bali's Kuta Cowboys has caused an uproar. An uproar that sees Indonesian police trying to build a criminal case against the film's director, Singaporean, Amit Virmani. The life and times of Kuta Cowboys is not something new nor is it something that is not widely known about. Most Balinese, most Indonesians, and most visitors to Bali are aware of the Kuta Cowboys irrespective of whether they have ever been in need of the special services that these young men provide.

A Kuta Cowboy might be described as a tour guide ++. Generally, the services provided depend on the demands of the respective client; it may be a full-service gig (no allusion to gigolo intended), then again it might be as simple as providing company during a holiday. Are the Kuta Cowboys male prostitutes? No. The service provided is so much more than a pure sexual one. The service might include sex, but the sex is not a core service nor is it the primary service. So, it is pretty hard to sustain an argument that Kuta Cowboys are male prostitutes.

Are they gigolos? Perhaps, but in my mind, No. A gigolo, strictly speaking, is a man supported by a woman in return for attention. This attention is primarily based on sexual encounters. So, once again, it is hard to sustain and maintain an argument that Kuta Cowboys are gigolos as the services provided are much more varied and are not premised solely on sex.

It is more likely that the best way to look at Kuta Cowboys is looking at them as self-employed entrepreneurs. They are generally young men who provide myriad of services that may or may not include sex. These men are then compensated for their time and service.

However, that said, the reality is also one where I have not heard of a Kuta Cowboy that has not provided sexual services as part of the full-service experience. Yet, I have not been actively researching the topic with a view to writing some sort of thesis on the subject.

The police have gone to some lengths to state that they are not pursuing the Kuta Cowboys as criminals, although perhaps they should if there is a belief that they are prostitutes as prostitution is illegal in Indonesia, but rather the police are arresting them as a means of being able to interview them and build a case against Virmani. The police are acting under the provisions of the 1992 Film Law, apparently. The police interpretation is that Virmani has shot a film in Indonesia without first obtaining the correct permits. For this breach of the law he could conceivably be sent to prison for one year and / or fined up to IDR 40 million.

This got me thinking. Would one need a film permit to bring a hand-held video camera into Indonesia and take holiday video footage? What about if this holiday footage is then cobbled together and put on YouTube? Or, heaven forbid, it was cobbled together at some later date and made into a short film and shown at a film festival? Are Indonesians and foreigners going to need to get a film permit to carry mobile phones with cameras? Let's face it, there is a lot of footage on the internet at places like YouTube, LiveLeak, and others that has been shot using the video function of a mobile phone. This video is clearly video that can be cobbled together into a more substantial piece of creative work and published.

It would seem that Indonesia's film law, and the people who drafted it, has not considered the available technology and the widespread use of social networking opportunities quite deeply enough.

Oh well...

AIDS and Shariah -- Hizbut Tahrir Style...

Today is World AIDS Day. Today, at least for me, is a day to remember dear friends and to continue to agitate for a brighter future; one that is free of this scourge. It is time that there was not only a vaccine, but a cure, for this virus. It is important to remember that as a community that great strides have been made, but it is more important to remember that the fight is not over. There are still those who advocate ignorance and take the bury your head in the sand approach.

This is why I find news like Hizbut Tahrir in Indonesia advocating the development of an Islamic Caliphate and the immediate implementation of Shariah Law as their main weapon in the fight against HIV / AIDS both amusing and and frighteningly dangerous at the same time. The naivety of an approach that says Shariah law will solve all ills beggars belief, particularly when the insinuation is that HIV / AIDS is a disease of prostitutes, drug users, and homosexuals. Not only is this naive, it is stupid as well. To all intents and purposes, prostitution, illicit drug use, and homosexuality are already illegal in Indonesia. So, the imposition of Shariah law is not going to change the legal framework all that much with respect to these issues. Unless, there is a belief that the punishment would be a sufficient deterrent to all of these situations.

Part of the Hizbut Tahrir push is to close down brothels and ban the use of condoms. Now, if I am not mistaken brothels are generally illegal. And, the authorities tend to periodically close them down. However, the banning of condoms as a means of preventing casual sex is silly at best and negligent at worst.

The Islamic hardliners are also advocating the cancellation of all condom and sex education programs on the belief that if people have no knowledge of sex, and safe sex in particular, then they are less likely to indulge in sex as a past time. Finally, it appears that the protesters believe that Indonesians are rather large consumers of pornography and that this is a trigger for the huge increase in casual sex. The answer, according to Hizbit Tahrir and others is to ban pornography and shut down the porn industry. Ah, if I am not mistaken pornography is already illegal in Indonesia.

Ideas such as this highlight a real lack of understanding of the human condition and the nature of the world that we live in. The reality is that sex and drugs preceded Islam and they will more than likely survive it as well.

Nevertheless, it is a daunting task facing those seeking to educate Indonesians about HIV / AIDS, particularly when a component of the community would have you believe that HIV / AIDS is nothing more than a disease that afflicts those in the sex industry or homosexuals. Indonesia is on the cusp of a pandemic where large-scale transmission from high risk communities begins to pervade the general community.

UNAIDS estimates that there are some 270,000 Indonesians infected with HIV, and that this is the tip of the iceberg in the sense that there is also a belief that there is significant under-reporting of infections. Under-reporting generally stems from the stigma attached to being HIV+ and the idea of singling HIV+ people out is abhorrent.

There is a real danger that HIV / AIDS could become a really big problem for Indonesia. However, the reality is not one that allows us to stick out collective heads in the sand and pretend that there is not really a problem. It requires vision from Indonesia's leaders to face this dilemma head on and make the hard decisions. One of those decisions is that education saves lives.

Perhaps now is a good time to take the excellent work being done by civil society and NGOs in Indonesia, such as Spiritia Foundation and others, mainstream in confronting this scourge. The fight is all about Respect and Protect. Respecting and protecting ourselves and others.

(Photo from here)

Bogor -- Halal City

The Bogor government has declared its intention of becoming a halal city. Halal in this case means that there is to be no government services with respect to the slaughtering of pigs (photo). However, if private citizens of Bogor want to slaughter pigs and they have their own tools of the trade, then they are going to be permitted to do so.

I wonder if just by the government stopping the slaughter of pigs is enough to make Bogor a halal city? The last time I was in Bogor there were a few other things that might be considered to be decidedly non-halal, like alcohol and prostitution.

I never went to Bogor for a good feed of pig meat anyways. If I went to Bogor and it was not for work-related reasons, then it was to visit the botanical gardens and the weekend retreat of the President. However, when one considers the huge influx of Jakartans to Bogor on the weekend, then it was usually better to stay in Jakarta and enjoy the relative freedom of movement.

More on Virginity

It is amazing what one stumbles across while surfing the Internet. It seems that there is a thriving market in terms of auctioning off one's virginity to the highest bidder. I am wondering, irrespective of the purpose or rationale for such action, whether this is just a case of prostitution through the medium of an online auction.

Then there are other concerns like how does one know if they are getting value for money? Specifically, that the claim of virginity is real. There is plenty of research that would suggest that a simple hymen test is probably not the best indicator of virginity.

Anyways, Natalie Dylan (apparently not her real name), a student from San Diego, is intending to finance here graduate school education by selling her virginity to the highest bidder. You can find news and commentary on this here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. What is interesting, aside from the fact that this looks a little like prostitution, is that this girl apparently has an undergraduate degree in women's studies from Sacramento State (which if I am not mistaken is part of the California State University system).

By all accounts it is Howard Stern that is going to kick off the auction process. Anything that Howard Stern is involved with is likely to push the edge of the envelope and worth watching in that car wreck kind of a way.

I am not sure that I will be following this story through to its conclusion, although it was a fun read, it just has that "beat up" feel to it! That said, I would be interested to find out how much she settles for and whether or not we get to see the wining bidder.

Singapore, F1, and Escorts

Escort agencies and escorts in Singapore have been doing a roaring trade over the last week or so. The F1 does not only bring the best drivers to the track, it also seems to bring out the big spenders, some of whom are looking for someone to accompany them for a short time. And here I was thinking that an Escort was a Ford motor car and an Escort Agency was a place where you could hire a car, an Escort to be precise. Oh well!

It has been reported that one escort agency took a booking on behalf of a local star for some SGD 40K. This was for only six hours work and required nothing more than a few smiles and some small talk. I am not sure how much the escort gets and how much the agency gets, but it is good money if you can get it. I do not even earn 40K in a year. I am obviously in the wrong business.

Generally, any sexual services are negotiated separately between the escort and the client. This undoubtedly adds to the overall cost. I wonder if these are being written off as "entertainment expenses"? Singapore is one of those jurisdictions where prostitution is legal but solicitation is not.

The difference by my reckoning is that if you meet the girl have a sexual encounter with the girl and then decide to pay her for that sexual encounter then this would be prostitution, or where the sex is enjoyed in a regulated brothel, then this is legal. Whereas, if the girl meets you and offers you her sexual services for a fee this would be solicitation or where you meet the girl and offer to pay for a sexual service then this would be illegal. I think I need to look up and read the relevant Singaporean law.

Now that the race is over, I guess it is a matter of waiting 12 months for the next Singapore Grand Prix and the associated spike in revenue enjoyed by the escorts and their agencies.

Oral Sex

The heading of this post reflects the content and is by no means a cynical attempt to boost visitor numbers to my humble abode. Then again maybe it is that too!

Let's face it oral sex is no longer taboo like it might once have been and it certainly is no longer solely practiced by members of the oldest profession in the world. The Australian Sexual Health Congress being held in Perth that some 90 per cent of those under 30 have partaken in what is conveniently named "going down under" seeing the congress is in Australia and all. It is interesting that so many people have now started to poke their collective heads around down stairs so to speak

Sex experts (I have always wondered whether or not this means you have had more practice than others and are therefore an expert?) suggest that the sharp rise in those prepared to try are doing so because of better hygiene standards and feminism. I am not sure how the feminism angle plays out but I am guessing more women are exercising the right to be pleasured and get pleasured (not sure that sounds right, but whatever).

Besides oral sex lost a lot of the taboo associated with it when good ol' Billy Clinton decided that oral sex was not really sex when he shook his finger at the assembled media and uttered those now famous words, "I did not have sexual relations with that women!" The rest they say is history. It certainly gave "that woman" aka Monica Lewinsky more than 15 minutes of fame, it did give us the now infamous blue dress with the seminal stains of a serving US president, and myriad of bit part players and their testimony.

The sexperts are also theorizing that people are looking for greater variety in their sexual experiences. Hence going where they have not gone before is perhaps an exciting challenge. It is also theorized that oral sex means that there is no need to think primarily of contraception. The list of theories continues with that oral sex is less likely to result in HIV infection. However, don't count your chickens before they hatch as it seems some other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as gonorrhea and herpes are on the increase in practitioners of oral sex.

So, if you are one of those people that have never been downstairs then you should be happy knowing that you are part of an ever-decreasing minority.

Entertainment and Ramadan

As is the case during every Ramadan that I have spent in Indonesia, entertainment venues go into reduced hours mode. Entertainment is not just your bars, clubs, and massage joints, but pool halls as well. Another oddity is that alcohol generally continues to be served with food and in coloured plastic cups or coffee mugs.

I went out last night and shot some pool with a good mate. We normally shoot pool in a place called "After Hours" and saw no need to change the habit, so that is where we went. Everything was pretty much as it always is, except for the drinks. The beer was not served in a beer mug, but rather it was served in a coffee mug. The beer was still ice-cold and apparently, according to the girl serving us those ice-cold beers, the coffee mug actually held slightly more beer than the regular beer mug. So, we were actually getting to drink more beer for the same price during Ramadan.

I did not take the camera [mental note -- take the camera with me everyday] so I do not have a picture. Maybe, I will shoot a few games next week and take the camera this time, get the photo of the beer-filled coffee mug, and add it to this post.

I have often wondered whether there are "entertainment venues" that continue to entertain unaffected by the holy month. I might have lived here and in Jakarta a long time but I am not knowledgeable on these things. Maybe some one will drop by who does know these things and enlighten me.

I find it interesting that the authorities clamp down on entertainment during the month of Ramadan. It is interesting because I have always understood the fasting month to be about resisting temptation, over-coming your urges, and through this struggle purifying yourself of the sins of the previous year, a cleaning of the slate if you will. The authorities seem to think that fasters need a helping hand by legislatively removing the temptation by closing places down.

Another fascinating aspect of the fasting month is that the law and order fellas ramp up the operations against prostitutes and others deemed undesirable, arrest them, and the send them off to some re-education camp to learn a trade like sewing. Surely, if prostitution is bad then it is bad all-year round, right?

For those of you that are fasting -- good luck!

Louis Vuitton and Darfur

It would seem that Louis Vuitton has its knickers in a knot, or perhaps a better analogy would be its handbags turned inside out, with a t-shirt that is destined to do big business in Internet sales. Nadia Plesner, a Danish activist with an interest in the ongoing conflict and unfolding tragedy that is Darfur, has produced a t-shirt that has the image of a starving little black boy holding a Louis Vuitton bag and interestingly cradling a little dog that very much resembles the mutt that Paris Hilton has.

The Louis Vuitton bag is obviously a trademarked design and legally cannot be used without permission of the owners of the trademark. Well, this is the claim of Louis Vuitton anyway. I wonder if Paris Hilton has thought about trademarking her dog in some way. I wonder if it is even possible? Because when I first looked at the image I recognized the dog and thought how Paris Hilton is that. I guess I am not a fashionista because although I saw the bag I did not immediately recognize it as a Louis Vuitton. besides I don't have the money to be buying Louis Vuitton bags, except for some much cheaper imitation version, anyway.

Louis Vuitton has won an injunction in a Parisian Court to stop Plesner from selling the t-shirts, but in true activist style Plesner has refused to comply with the order. This has compelled Louis Vuitton to up the ante and take further legal action to force compliance. Apparently, there is a meeting scheduled for 30 May between Plesner and the Louis Vuitton executives to thrash out a compromise.

One would think that this is a no brainer for Louis Vuitton, you simply would not want your product to be associated with the violence and suffering in Darfur in this way. If Louis Vuitton was to compromise and allow the image then it would seem that this is another case where dollars trumps common sense. Simply, the picture says to me that Western Nations and big businesses are complicit in the violence and suffering in Darfur and Sudan, and are making money off of the suffering of our fellow human beings. does Louis Vuitton really want to make its money this way.

Interestingly, Plesner says that she already has 4000 orders for the t-shirt and posters with the image. T-shirts are selling at USD 53 and posters at USD 20 so it is a nice little revenue raiser with the profits going to the Divest for Darfur campaign.

Clearly something needs to be done in Darfur and Sudan with more than 200,000 people already killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless. As human beings we cannot sit idly by as our brothers and sisters are suffering in such terrible circumstances. So, in that sense a USD 50 t-shirt or a USD 20 poster seems like a pretty good contribution. If I was the lawyer that was representing Louis Vuitton then my advice would be to make a donation to the Divest for Darfur campaign and buy the rights to the design from Plesner. This might be a public relations winner rather than a nightmare.

I am awaiting Plesner's next project which supposedly involves a take -off of the Little Miss series and involves Little Miss becoming Little Miss Child Prostitute. Plesner is an activist on a mission!

Hot-Housing Children

The term hot-housing children sounds like a practice destined to confine children into a life of prostitution. Yet, the term is not quite so sinister as that, at least in theory anyway!

Hot-housing children is the practice of isolating gifted kids with a view to expediting academic success at an early age. Most of us have no doubt read stories of kids deemed to be geniuses and admitted to some of the most prestigious institutes of learning in the world. The simple idea being that if you start them early then they will be productive early.

The case of Sufiah Yusof highlights just how badly this can go wrong. Sufiah was a child prodigy that seemingly had it all before her. Recognized for her academic and intellectual talents as a youngster and admitted to Oxford at just 13 years of age (picture borrowed from The Sydney Morning Herald).

The biggest problem I see, and I am no expert, is that if you are entering university at 10, 12, or 15 years old you are missing out the most fun years of primary and high school! So, you grow up to be a genius adult that has never had the nurturing fun years of childhood. Not being a psychologist seems irrelevant here because this kind of loss of childhood appears to be a recipe for disaster to me.

But back to the story the young genius Sufiah is now a 23 year old prostitute turning tricks for 130 quid an hour somewhere in Manchester (United Kingdom)! Maybe this is her choice and maybe it isn't but whatever the case it is still sad! It is a sad indictment of our community as a whole that we let a kid with so much potential be so poorly cared for and managed that she falls through the net and into a situation that has all the signs of turning into a case of "what could have been"...

Perhaps the answer is not universities for these child geniuses but perhaps some other specialized facility of advanced learning where their respective talents and interests can be developed amongst geniuses of the same age rather than in the broader university scene...maybe we need a genius to work this one out for us too!

Polygamy in Indonesia

There is a whole legal debate that could be had on this topic from the perspective of legislation already enacted to govern the relationships between men and women. However, this would be no where near as fun as a rant and call the debate on this as one sees it! So, it is a rant in preference to a 'fair & balanced' examination of the pros and cons.

The recent release of an Indonesian film, Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) has struck a chord and is doing the rounds of the blogs and other sites. This debate is providing interesting and impassioned responses, so here is mine!

I have just read a blog by Ubergirl87. I am guessing the girl means she is in fact a woman and 87 refers to the year she was born. Assumptions can always get you into trouble but in any event it is an enlightening post. It relays a recent occurrence where some one asked a cleric about whether the husband and his two wives could engage in a threesome.

Aside from the obvious spice this might add to a presumably dull marriage, the question was how does Islam respond to such an encounter. As the cleric sees it, why not! Always conditions of course, and here the condition is that the partners (the wives in this case) cannot see each other -- modesty! I have to assume that the husband is allowed to look otherwise it could provide new meaning to getting knocked-up and a bruising encounter! Three people running around blindfolded might be too much to handle for some. This idea of modesty might also give meaning to the paper bag over one's head during the act of love making!

But back to polygamy. So, who wants to be the second, third, or fourth wife? Even the stars of the movie, all of whom seem to support the practice, seem to agree that they do not mind polygamy but are not so keen on being wife No. 2!

Is polygamy a form of exploitation and violence against women? In the al-Quran it is clear that there is an honourable element to the practice, or at least this is what I am told (I have read the relevant parts myself), men that are financially well to do marrying widows. But there is also a much more objectionable component in that it can be done for political reasons such as suring up familial alliances. This might not be such a prevalent aspect of the practice now but the question remains, why do Muslim men marry more than one wife? Is it purely altruistic or is it that men do so to give themselves some variety in the sexual partner category?

Indonesia has some well-to-do and famous polygamy practitioners such as the King of Dangdut, Rhoma Irama, and more recently AA Gym.

Remember it was not so long ago that the Vice President of Indonesia was on the record saying that he had no problem with Arabs coming to Indonesia and entering into temporary marriage contracts with Indonesian women. His rationale was that the women got some benefit out of this in terms of an improved financial position. The marriages might be legal according to religious laws but a two week marriage where the women gains a financial benefit at the end (and well deserved no doubt) is this really just a two-week stand, instead of the one-nighter, and in essence a form of legalized prostitution!

Personally, I think prostitution should be legalized and that way it can be better regulated and the harm of such things as human trafficking in girls and women can be reduced. It would allow the government to enforce better occupational health and safety standards, enforce age restrictions, and regulate where prostitution can occur. In other ways it is sure to be an exceptional revenue raiser for governments as they tax the proceeds. They do not call prostitution the oldest profession in the world without reason.

But once again back to the topic, polygamy! If women are prepared to enter into polygamous marriages then shouldn't this be their personal choice and their right? How far do we want the State to enter into and regulate our personal affairs? Why do men do it? The answer to this question might be as simple as, because they can!

But in the end, this is really a matter of to each their own! If you agree with the practice you can make your arguments for its maintenance and similarly if you disagree with the practice you can make equally convincing arguments for its prohibition.