Indonesia lets women access husbands’ salaries to curb adultery

Women married to government employees in northern Indonesia will now be allowed direct access to their husbands' salaries. An official told BBC News that the purpose of the law is to prevent men from cheating on their wives.

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Women in Indonesia had previously complained that their husbands only gave them enough money to purchase meals each day, the BBC reported. The women attributed the lack of financial transparency to their husbands being unfaithful. 

"We believe it would be best if salaries of male, married civil servants are paid through their wives' accounts," an official spokesman told the BBC. 

It's not the first time that Indonesia has taken legal steps to prevent adultery, though past rules have been much more aggressive. In 2009, Indonesia's region of Aceh passed a law that would allow adulterers to be stoned to death, CBN News reported. 

The BBC said that some civil servants in northern Indonesia don't mind letting their wives have more control over their earnings. "It is my wife who has access to my salary anyway. She has the ATM card," one civil servant told the BBC.