Indonesia to ban female MPs from wearing miniskirts

JAKARTA (AFP) - Women's groups expressed outrage on Tuesday after Indonesia's parliament said it would draft rules banning female lawmakers from wearing 'provocative' clothing such as miniskirts to work and claimed such dress invited rape.

'We know there have been a lot of rape cases and other immoral acts recently, and this is because women aren't wearing appropriate clothes,' house of representatives speaker Marzuki Alie said.

'Women wearing inappropriate clothes arouse men, so it needs to be stopped. You know what men are like - provocative clothing will make them do things.' Mr Refrizal, the deputy head of the household affairs committee, which is spearheading the new regulation, told AFP that 'miniskirts and skimpy clothes are an invitation to male lawmakers'.

The move was also backed by two female house members who formerly worked as fashion models, local media reported. Indonesian women's rights groups said they were outraged by the comments and called for a stop to the demonisation of rape victims. 'It's ridiculous that this is again coming from the mouths of prominent people with influence,' Action for Women Against Rape founder Chika Noya told AFP.