A woman was on Monday caned in front of delighted spectators as a punishment for having sex outside wedlock in Indonesia. The humiliating punishment was carried out in the country's arch-conservative Aceh province, the only one which observes Sharia criminal law. The woman kept her head down as she was escorted by two other women and prepared to face the punishment for having sex outside wedlock. Rights groups slam public caning as cruel, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for it to end. In 2018, Aceh said that flogging would be carried out behind prison walls in future, but some local governments have continued public whippings.

Source: The Star April 15, 2019 15:56 UTC