Lawmakers in a town in Indonesia have put forward new legislation that would ban women from straddling motorcycles when riding pillion behind a male rider. Women in Lhokseumawe city will still be allowed to straddle a motorcycle when she is the operator, but otherwise they will have to ride sidesaddle.

Lhokseumawe is a town in Aceh, a predominantly Muslim region of Indonesia that has in recently years has been implementing strict Sharia law. Officials say the new law will protect women from provoking male riders with their body positioning.

“Women sitting on motorbikes must not sit astride because it will provoke the male driver. It’s also to protect women from an undesirable condition,” Mayor Suaidi Yahya told AFP. “It’s improper for women to sit astride. We implement Islamic law here.” Continue Reading »