Indonesia criminalises adultery: Which other nations have outlawed extramarital affairs?

Indonesia has criminalised sex outside marriage with the Parliament unanimously passing the long-awaited amendments to the country’s penal code.

The revised criminal code makes extramarital sex punishable by up to one-year imprisonment, and cohabitation – unmarried people who live together and are in a sexual relationship – by six months, says Associated Press (AP) report. However, charges of adultery must be based on police complaints filed by a spouse, parents or children, the report added.

Moreover, abortion remains a crime in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, with exceptions for women with life-threatening medical conditions and in rape cases, given that the fetus is less than 12 weeks old.

Reuters reported that currently adultery is banned in Indonesia but not premarital sex.

The new criminal code – which will apply to citizens as well as foreigners – will not be enforced for three years till the regulation is drafted.

Indonesia is not the only country that has strict morality laws.

Which other countries deem adultery illegal? Where does India stand? Let’s take a closer look.

Muslim-majority nations

Adultery is prohibited in Sharia or Islamic Law and hence it is a criminal offence in most Muslim countries.

Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Somalia ban “zina” or sex outside marriage. The punishment can include fines, detention, jail, flogging, and even the death penalty in extreme cases, as per Indian Express.

In Somalia, adultery can attract imprisonment of up to two years. While in areas where Sharia law is imposed, zina leads to lashing or stoning to death.

Under Islamic sharia law, Iran makes adultery punishable by stoning. Times of Israel reports that the law was changed in 2013 to offer an alternative method of execution, usually hanging, in such cases.

Qatar punishes zina with up to seven years imprisonment. While in the case of unmarried sexual relations, individuals can be subjected to flogging. In case of adultery by a married person, they can be awarded capital punishment.

Under Pakistan’s Hadood Ordinance, infidelity is considered a crime. Women who have been raped have to prove the accusation by providing four respectable adult male eyewitnesses of “the act of penetration” as evidence to avoid being accused of adultery.

Afghanistan and Bangladesh also consider adultery a penal offence.

According to Article 146 of the Sudanese Criminal Act of 1991, death by stoning is the punishment for adultery in Sundan. Sexual intercourse between unmarried people can lead to a sentence of 100 lashes.

Rwanda

According to Sexual Rights Database, a sentence of six months to one-year imprisonment can be given in Rwanda for adultery.

Cohabitation is also punishable by six months to two years in prison and can also lead to a fine of 100,000 – 200,000 Rwandan francs.

Several US states

American states including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin make adultery illegal.

However, adultery is rarely prosecuted as a criminal offence in these states.

As per LA Times, termination from jobs, sanctions, penalties or demotions is a more common way of dealing with adultery.

The Philippines

Adultery and concubinage are considered crimes in the Philippines. Women who cheat on their spouses, along with their partners, can face imprisonment for a maximum of six years.

If a man cheats on his wife, he may be imprisoned for up to four years and one day, while his partner can be exiled for four years and one day.

What about India?

In a landmark ruling in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that adultery is not a crime but could be a ground for divorce.

Striking down the archaic law that punished a man but not a woman for adultery, the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra had said, “Husband is not the master of the wife. Any provision treating a woman with inequality is not constitutional.”

“Adultery might not be the cause of an unhappy marriage, it could be the result of an unhappy marriage. Mere adultery can’t be a crime unless it attracts the scope of Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC. Thinking of adultery as a criminal offence is a retrograde step,” the paex court had said, as per Indian Express.

Besides India, South Korea and Taiwan have also decriminalized adultery recently.

In China, extramarital affairs can be a ground for divorce.

With inputs from agencies

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