There is an article in today's Jakarta Post--Aceh Unveils New Female Flogging Squad--that would be hilarious if it weren't so damn sad.
The writer begins by describing the reticence of a masked woman flogger, one of a squad of 8 newly deputized sharia officers, as she approaches her baptismal target, an unmarried woman caught in a hotel room with a man (horrors!). Such behavior constitutes a 'morality crime' in Aceh.
Despite her reticence, the article continues, the new recruit persevered and successfully delivered her first formal flogging. It was not noted, though it may be safely assumed, that the victim was reticent as well.
"I think she did a good job," Banda Aceh Sharia police chief investigator Zakwan commented. "Her technique was nice."
Seriously? Is there a special technique for beating a defenseless woman with a rattan cane?
Well, turns out there is. Imagine that. The floggers, who are outfitted in cloth masks and loose fitting brown uniforms--not only stylish, but utilitarian and good for hiding the identity--are trained to make sure they are physically fit (who needs a weak flogger, anyway?) and that they know how to administer a proper beating.
The reader may be wondering at this point whether this is some kind of spoof or parody--something from The Onion. I know I was. But no, this is the straight news from the primeval side of the world.
The job of whipping a victim--sorry, a criminal--has always been done by men, but now women have joined the ranks. Now that is equal opportunity at work!
Of course, the women whip only women, never men. We have not progressed quite that far, yet.
And to be fair, convincing women to participate as administrators of public beatings has been no easy task. It has "taken years to assemble the first female squad." The torture, you see, is very hard on the torturers.
What sort of transgressions have the victims--again, sorry, the criminals--committed? Well, they are far ranging and include gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, premarital sex, shows of public affection. On a recent patrol, a group of men and women were spotted sitting at nearby tables in a coffee café at 3 am and were arrested for breaking strict codes about unmarried men and women interacting, or at least almost interacting. "This shows that we never sleep, looking for violations of sharia," an official said.
Perhaps this lack of sleep has clouded minds? Who knows?
"We didn't even know the women," one of the arrested later said (from his jail cell). The two parties were sitting at totally separate tables. Moreover, the men were gay.
Ah well, homosexuality is also a crime. Two beatings for you, buddy.
Nonetheless, sharia in Aceh is still lenient, we are told (compared to Saudi Arabia, I guess). "We need harsher punishments," one expert on such things opined, "like stoning, not just whipping. Someone committing adultery should be stoned 100 times."
Alllll riiiiighty then.
In fact, floggings as they stand "can be so severe that people pass out or are hospitalized."
Even so, "We are not aiming to hurt people by whipping them," a sharia advocate reported.
Yeah. We all know that whipping, if done by trained professionals, doesn't hurt. Much.
The writer begins by describing the reticence of a masked woman flogger, one of a squad of 8 newly deputized sharia officers, as she approaches her baptismal target, an unmarried woman caught in a hotel room with a man (horrors!). Such behavior constitutes a 'morality crime' in Aceh.
Despite her reticence, the article continues, the new recruit persevered and successfully delivered her first formal flogging. It was not noted, though it may be safely assumed, that the victim was reticent as well.
"I think she did a good job," Banda Aceh Sharia police chief investigator Zakwan commented. "Her technique was nice."
Seriously? Is there a special technique for beating a defenseless woman with a rattan cane?
Well, turns out there is. Imagine that. The floggers, who are outfitted in cloth masks and loose fitting brown uniforms--not only stylish, but utilitarian and good for hiding the identity--are trained to make sure they are physically fit (who needs a weak flogger, anyway?) and that they know how to administer a proper beating.
The reader may be wondering at this point whether this is some kind of spoof or parody--something from The Onion. I know I was. But no, this is the straight news from the primeval side of the world.
The job of whipping a victim--sorry, a criminal--has always been done by men, but now women have joined the ranks. Now that is equal opportunity at work!
Of course, the women whip only women, never men. We have not progressed quite that far, yet.
And to be fair, convincing women to participate as administrators of public beatings has been no easy task. It has "taken years to assemble the first female squad." The torture, you see, is very hard on the torturers.
What sort of transgressions have the victims--again, sorry, the criminals--committed? Well, they are far ranging and include gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, premarital sex, shows of public affection. On a recent patrol, a group of men and women were spotted sitting at nearby tables in a coffee café at 3 am and were arrested for breaking strict codes about unmarried men and women interacting, or at least almost interacting. "This shows that we never sleep, looking for violations of sharia," an official said.
Perhaps this lack of sleep has clouded minds? Who knows?
"We didn't even know the women," one of the arrested later said (from his jail cell). The two parties were sitting at totally separate tables. Moreover, the men were gay.
Ah well, homosexuality is also a crime. Two beatings for you, buddy.
Nonetheless, sharia in Aceh is still lenient, we are told (compared to Saudi Arabia, I guess). "We need harsher punishments," one expert on such things opined, "like stoning, not just whipping. Someone committing adultery should be stoned 100 times."
Alllll riiiiighty then.
In fact, floggings as they stand "can be so severe that people pass out or are hospitalized."
Even so, "We are not aiming to hurt people by whipping them," a sharia advocate reported.
Yeah. We all know that whipping, if done by trained professionals, doesn't hurt. Much.
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