When it seemed like we had just gotten over the buzz of Atta Halilintar’s highly publicized marriage to singer Aurel Hermansyah, the popular YouTuber is back in the spotlight for his outdated views on marriage, which has earned him condemnation from a prominent women’s rights group.
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Back in mid-February, Atta sat with his now mother-in-law Ashanty for a chat about his decision to marry Aurel, the video of which was posted on YouTube. During their conversation, Atta gave a sneak peek into his conservative views on marriage.
“When we’re married, I’m going to be the head of the family, not like when we’re engaged. The permission from the husband, a husband’s voice is the voice of God. If I don’t give permission, [the wife] must obey, we can’t act like we used to,” Atta told Ashanty.
“It’s like your life has been handed over to the man who’s responsible for you. So there should be no more debates about small things like this or that, unlike when we were only engaged.”
On top of that, Atta also said that he has prepared a big house with 15 rooms for his future children with Aurel, taking inspiration from how his parents had 11 children including him.
The topic came up again in a video posted by comedian Sule on his YouTube channel late last month. During Atta’s chat with Sule and his wife, Nathalie Holscher, he said he wanted more than a dozen children to “give new colors to his life.”
“I told Aurel [that I wanted 15 children]. She said she wanted [the same],” Atta said, while imitating Aurel’s seemingly uncertain expression when he conveyed his wish.
Atta said he believes in the old Indonesian adage, “more children, more prosperity.”
Both videos have gotten more airplay recently following Atta’s marriage to Aurel last weekend, which notably invited scorn from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), who criticized the 26-year-old for his “patriarchal” statement and viewing marriage as “a medium to perpetuate forms of gender injustice.”
“The gender injustice that is being perpetuated is subordination, where women are not considered as decision makers, [with the decisions instead] determined by their husbands. Women as wives lose their rights to participate in determining or deciding what kind of household to build,” Siti Aminah Tardi, a commissioner at Komnas Perempuan, said on Wednesday.
“The desire to have 15 children, for example, has this been agreed upon together? Women cannot be positioned as a ‘factory’ to bear children only, and women have the right to determine when [to have children], how many, and the space between each pregnancy in marriage.”
Up until the time of publishing, Atta has yet to issue any statement regarding the matter, though his recent Instagram post appears to take a jab at those who criticized him.
View this post on Instagram
“We’re happy! Others should just step aside, no need to stick your nose into our business! My life has been filled with hardship since childhood… Thank You Allah for giving me a life partner who makes me happy now,” the caption reads.
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