At Indonesia’s sharia frontier, 21 lashes for a TikTok kiss ‘is our right’
Rights groups call it torture. Aceh’s residents reveal a more nuanced debate than outrage allows
As each blow landed on their backs, the unnamed man, 22, and woman, 25, visibly grimaced. The woman later burst into tears, wailing in pain as the public punishment continued.
The caning was carried out on July 2 in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Aceh is the only Indonesian province to enforce sharia law under its Islamic Criminal Code, known locally as Qanun Jinayat.
It was far from the first such case to gain international attention and the response has become familiar: footage spreads online, rights groups condemn the punishment as inhumane and Aceh’s status as the Muslim-majority country’s sole sharia-enforcing province is thrust back into the spotlight.
But inside Aceh, caning is not viewed solely through a human rights lens. For some residents, it is bound up with religion, local autonomy and Acehnese identity.
Support is neither universal nor uncomplicated – even those who back the punishment often disagree over when and how it should be applied.