At Indonesia’s sharia frontier, 21 lashes for a TikTok kiss ‘is our right’

Footage of the punishment quickly went viral: an unmarried couple each receiving 21 lashes of the cane in Indonesia’s Aceh province after being accused of kissing in a car and live-streaming it on TikTok.As each blow landed on their backs, the unnamed man, 22, and woman, 25, visibly grimaced. The woman later burst into tears, wailing in pain as the public punishment continued.The caning was carried out on July 2 in Aceh" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="6411" data-entity-type="location">Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Aceh is the only Indonesian province to enforce sharia law under its Islamic Criminal Code, known locally as Qanun Jinayat.Officials help an unmarried woman get up after she was publicly caned for kissing during a TikTok livestream in Aceh" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="6411" data-entity-type="location">Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on July 2. Photo: APIt was far from the first such case to gain international attention and the response has become familiar: footage spreads online, rights groups condemn the punishment as inhumane and Aceh’s status as the Muslim-majority country’s sole sharia-enforcing province is thrust back into the spotlight.