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 Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Aceh is the only Indonesian province to...

By Aisyah Llewellyn