Indonesian district bans unmarried couples from motorbike rides

A man and a woman ride a motor bike in Banda Aceh on May 4, 2015. North Aceh district in Indonesia's Aceh has passed legislation banning unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes, a lawmaker said on May 4, the latest new Islamic regulation in the conservative province. -- PHOTO: AFP.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP): A district in Indonesia's Aceh has passed legislation banning unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes, a lawmaker said Monday, the latest new Islamic regulation in the conservative province.

Members of parliament in North Aceh district last week approved the regulation, which will come into effect in a year, said lawmaker Fauzan Hamzah, adding that authorities were making "efforts to implement sharia law fully".