Chastity belts on the rise in Indonesia

JAKARTA, April 27 (UPI) -- Chastity belts are gaining popularity in Indonesian massage parlors as a way to stop clients and masseuses from getting too close, parlor owners say.

A number of massage parlors in Batu, Indonesia, are requiring female masseuses to wear padlocks over their pants zippers to prevent men from bombarding workers for sex, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

"We had a hard time rejecting this kind of client because they try over and over and over again, persuading our workers with their dangerously sweet words," Doghado Massage Parlor owner Franky Setiawan said.

Meutia Fardia Hatta Swasono, minister for the empowerment of women, said bringing back the old fashioned chastity belt is offensive to women.

"It is not the right way to prevent promiscuity. It insults women as if they are the ones in the wrong," she said.

Parlor sex crackdowns come as traditional Islamic values gain popularity in Indonesia, influencing people to cut back on morally questionable activities including the sex trade, alcohol consumption and gambling, the Times reported.