In an effort to prevent a disruption to moral order, the Indonesian government has started cracking down on the use of same-sex emojis, reports Foreign Policy. Emojis, cartoon-like characters that are designed to express the range of human emotions, among other things, that indicate two genders of the same sex with a child or heart between them are of particular concern. LINE, a popular messaging service, has already complied with the request prompting Ismail Cawidu, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Information, to officially praise the move in a public statement. “The ministry is appreciative of LINE Indonesia for their understanding and discretion in dealing with matters that could potentially cause public unrest, especially the concerns of mothers for their children in terms of the negative influence the circulation of these LGBT stickers could cause.”
Meanwhile, human rights groups are becoming increasingly alarmed by what they see as incremental steps by President Joko Widodo – known also as Jokowi – to tamp down any expansion of gay civil rights. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on the president to stand up for gay rights and condemn anti-LGBT rhetoric. Two recent examples noted by the rights group were suggested bans on LGBT groups on university campuses, and the Indonesian police’s decision to interrupt an outreach event intended to educate gay men on HIV. Graeme Reid, director of LGBT research at Human Rights Watch, said Jokowi should clarify his stance “before such rhetoric opens the door to more abuses.”
Homosexuality is still widely considered to be a taboo subject. In some areas of the country ruled by Sharia law, gay sex can merit 100 lashes by a cane.
This is not the first time, however, that government officials have attempted to ban content deemed un-Islamic. During the previous administration, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring made it his mission to stamp out anything that whiffed of pornography, including the video-sharing site Vimeo which does not allow pornography. When questioned on the move Tifatul noted that the site had titles with such scandalous-sounding names as “Nudie Cutie” and “Art of Nakedness.”
When asked why he was following a recognized porn site on his official Twitter account, he explained he accidentally hit “follow” in his search for purity.
