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Students at Indonesian Vocational School Forced to Take Pregnancy Tests
Nurfika Osman | November 10, 2010

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Wong Edan
1:11am Nov 13, 2010

"...we have seen teenage indecency increasing nowadays due to globalization." OK then, let's ban all religions that came from other parts of the globe. Oh...


Roland
11:42pm Nov 12, 2010

SBY has opinions? Hmm...


devine
8:44pm Nov 12, 2010

I wonder what SBY's opinion is on this one...


langfordpeter
7:11pm Nov 12, 2010

@SirAnthonyKnown-Bender, "facism" not "Islamic facism". Islam, loke other religion does not condone facism or terrorism.

@BilboBaggins, inflicting intolerance and ignorance on other people has nothing to do religion. This is a classic case of culture and chauvinism.

“Thank God, all of the tests were negative,” Bro, they were using condoms


foto4mike
6:28pm Nov 12, 2010

Isn't East Java the area where pedophiles are approved by the main religion there? So this here sounds like a good ol' Taliban idea: Grab the girls while they're kids, make them pregnant, and they will be confined to the house because of morality. Interesting to see how a certain religion defines its values...


Roland
5:57pm Nov 12, 2010

“It has become a major concern for us because we have seen teenage indecency increasing nowadays due to globalization." Is this guy for real? And this backward E.Java education office even expresses his support for it?

This whole issue, similar to the one a little while ago in which some school wanted to have school girls tested for virginity is beyond my comprehension!

But what they all not manage is to give proper education to their students, so they will have better job options and opportunities and a better future ahead...

...and what especially disturbs me are the stigmatizing consequences a girl would face if pregnant (except of course if she's married at the age of twelve, then all is fine and not immoral as these girls don't need education anyhow, isn't it?)


BilboBaggins
11:05am Nov 11, 2010

@peterR. dead right, it's about time that this sort of backwards, ignorant behavior is dealt with.

Your religion is your own business but inflicting your intolerance and ignorance on other people is not acceptable in a civilized democracy.


peterR
7:49am Nov 11, 2010

It is this that makes Islam look stupid and Indonesia primitive. Are there no laws here to protect the rights of individuals? Why does the Government not stop this abuse and victimisation of women? In most countries the principal of this school would be fired and punished under the law.


Asoegenie
7:22am Nov 11, 2010

And of course male students are not at all tested for proof of waywardness.


TGIF
6:03am Nov 11, 2010

How about giving a moral decency test to religious radical groups in this country...

Has anyone in this country listen to Obama's speech at all? And the legacy of his late mother to empower women and girls the right to an education...

That's right it is all in English so there is an excuse to fall on deaf ears....Maybe if it was in Arabic it would be understood...GO FIGURE!!!


SirAnthonyKnown-Bender
1:32am Nov 11, 2010

This is Islamic fascism.


martheen
11:33pm Nov 10, 2010

Kicking out the pregnant girls means abandoning their rights for education and condemning them to harsh future without access to higher education. Anyway, drug test would be more useful to find who needs help, this pregnancy test smells like attempts at paving the way to virginity test later


Jakarta. Academic prowess is apparently not enough at one vocational school in Magetan, East Java. Add to that irreproachable morals.

Female students at SMK Negeri I, a vocational high school, were recently required to take a pregnancy test, in what school officials said was an effort to keep them on the moral straight and narrow.

“We are doing this to prevent indecent behavior. It is also a part of an education based on character,” Budiyono, the school’s principal, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

He said school officials were concerned about the morality of the students, although he did not say if there were any specific incidents that had brought about this concern.

“We are now in the process of improving every aspect of our curriculum, especially in terms of teaching morality,” he said.

“It has become a major concern for us because we have seen teenage indecency increasing nowadays due to globalization.”

Budiyono said that as many as 280 female students took the pregnancy test by providing urine samples.

“Thank God, all of the tests were negative,” he said, adding that a positive result would have meant that the student in question would have been required to transfer to another school.

“We have an unwritten policy that a pregnant student cannot study here,” he said.

He said the school would send any pregnant students to a private school that could accommodate them.

He also said the school was now planning on conducting the mandatory pregnancy test at least one a year.

Harun, head of the East Java provincial education office, expressed his support for the school’s effort.

“As long as it brings benefits to the school or is meant to prevent something bad from happening, we will support it,” he said.

“I do not think this violates the rights of the students. Schools are responsible for the way their students associate with their friends.”

But Masruchah, the deputy chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said the pregnancy tests were not only unreasonable, but were also a violation of the rights of the female students.

“This action is beyond reasonable and it totally discriminates against the girls,” she said.

She pointed out that male students were not required to undergo any tests to ascertain their decency.

“Morality cannot be judged from the results of a pregnancy test. People should understand that young girls can become pregnant due to rape or arranged marriages. Clearly it is unfair.”

Children, she added, have the right to an education, and instead of discriminating against girls, the school should instead provide assistance, including counseling, to any students who required it.

“This just shows the strength of the patriarchal system,” she said. “Women, girls and children are always the victims of these kinds of policies.”




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