In our daily Acehnese society, wearing hijab is a form of self-salvation rather than the command of Allah SWT. Hijab has more meaning than just a head covering of sunlight, but hijab is also symbolized as a person's devotion and belief in the command of the Almighty Allah SWT.
In our own province, Aceh Province is the only province in Indonesia that implements sharia regulations that refer to the provisions of Islamic criminal law. The laws that apply it are called Qanun Jinayat or Jinayat Law. Although most secular Indonesian laws are still applied in Aceh, the provincial government in this case implements some additional rules that stem from Islamic criminal law. The Government of Indonesia formally allows each province to apply local regulations, but in particular Aceh gains status as a province with special autonomy with the addition of permission to apply laws based on Islamic Shari'a as formal law. Some of the offenses set out under Islamic criminal law include the production, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages, gambling, adultery, intimacy performed outside marriage and homosexual acts. Every perpetrator of the violations that are prosecuted under this law often ends in punishment of flogging, fine sanction and imprisonment. There is no stoning provision applied in this law in Aceh, although attempts to implement stoning were introduced in 2009 but these efforts were not approved by governor Irwandi Yusuf.
Supporters of Islamic criminal law defend its legitimacy based on the special autonomy status granted to Aceh, stating that it is protected by law as a right of religious freedom for the people of Aceh. Opponents, including Amnesty International, oppose the object of caning as a punishment, as well as punishment for extramarital sex.
