A woman in Indonesia’s Aceh province has reportedly become the first person to be publicly caned there for “committing obscenity live with a man on social media” under the region’s strict interpretation of Sharia law.
Authorities imposed the punishment after the woman and her partner were accused of kissing while appearing together on a TikTok livestream.
Photographs from the scene show the woman kneeling as a masked Sharia police officer strikes her back with a cane during the public punishment.
She appeared visibly distressed as the blows continued, before the ordeal became overwhelming and she lost consciousness.
Dozens of people gathered to watch the caning, and some members of the crowd were heard urging officials carrying out the sentence to “whip stronger.”
The woman had been sentenced to 21 lashes, though it remains unclear how many had been administered by the time she fainted.
Images show her collapsing while clutching her back, as a woman standing nearby quickly moved in to catch and assist her.
She was then seen lying motionless on the ground while a medic checked her condition to decide whether she was physically able to continue receiving the punishment.
Even if she requires medical treatment, she will not escape the sentence, with any remaining lashes postponed until she is deemed well enough to complete the caning.
A woman has become the first person to be publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh province for ‘committing obscenity live with a man on social media’ under its strict Sharia law
Chilling images show her kneeling and screaming in agony as a masked Sharia police officer repeatedly brings the cane down across her back
She is seen collapsing to the ground clutching her back as a woman behind her rushes forward to catch her
It is unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before she fainted
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, under which same-sex relationships and sex outside marriage are criminal offences
This is not the first time someone has collapsed during a public caning in the province
Rows of police officers watched the punishment from their seats as it was carried out in public
Convicts attend a public flogging for violating Sharia Law in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 02 July 2026
Officers escort Sharia Law violators for a public flogging in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 02 July 2026
Rows of police officers watched the punishment from their seats as it was carried out in public.
The woman’s partner was also caned over the TikTok livestream, while four other convicts also received lashes.
The couple was reported to the authorities after they were seen kissing during a livestream on the video app TikTok, which prompted an investigation that led to their punishment, the city’s sharia police head Muhammad Rizal told reporters on Thursday.
‘They clearly violated the Islamic sharia,’ Rizal said, adding that it was the first time in the religiously conservative province that people were punished for violating sharia law through social media.
Acts of physical intimacy such as kissing, hugging or touching between men and women who are not husband and wife are forbidden in Aceh, the only province in the Southeast Asian country that applies a version of the Islamic law.
Amnesty International Indonesia spokesman Haeril Halim said the punishment for the couple was ‘a horrifying act of discrimination’.
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‘This shows that the Aceh Islamic Criminal Code (Qanun Jinayat) has expanded its reach to target peaceful expressions in the digital sphere with the caning of the young couple,’ he said in a statement to AFP.
He called for the government to end the use of caning, adding that corporal punishment ‘has no place in a just and humane society’.
Another couple also received 27 lashes on Thursday for physical intimacy, while two men were caned 29 times and eight times, respectively, for gambling.
In May, authorities flogged two men and two women 100 times for having sex outside of marriage. Five others were also caned at the time for violations including being in proximity of members of the opposite sex and alcohol consumption.
Caning, though not a legal form of punishment in Indonesia, retains strong support in Aceh.
Pictured: Medics assess the woman after she fainted during the caning
Human rights groups say the public humiliation adds to the cruelty and causes lasting psychological damage. Pictured: The woman lying on the floor
A man convicted of violating Sharia law for livestreaming obscene acts on social media was caned in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, but officially recognises six religions as well as indigenous beliefs.
This is not the first time someone has collapsed during a public caning in the province.
In June, a woman fainted after she and her partner each received 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage under Aceh’s Sharia law. She had to be carried away after collapsing during the punishment.
The couple were among several people publicly caned that day for offences including extramarital sex arranged through online apps.
Public caning is used to punish a wide range of offences under Aceh’s Sharia code, including gambling, drinking alcohol, same-sex relationships and having sexual relations outside marriage.
Child rape carries the harshest punishment under the province’s Sharia laws, with offenders facing up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of up to 200 months or a fine equivalent to two kilograms of gold.
The public nature of the punishments is intended to shame offenders as well as inflict pain.
Canings are often staged outside mosques or in community squares, with crowds gathering to watch and photograph the event.
Human rights groups say the public humiliation adds to the cruelty and causes lasting psychological damage.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly condemned the practice, saying it violates Indonesia’s constitution and its obligations under international law.
The woman’s partner was also caned after being accused of taking part in the livestream, which included a couples kissing each other on camera, while four other convicts also received lashes
A man convicted of violating Aceh’s Sharia law for live social media obscenity is escorted by officers as he is about to be caned in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province
An Acehnese woman reacts to lashing during public caning punishment for violating Sharia Law
Amnesty said in a statement: ‘Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.
‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’
Local officials have defended the practice as a deterrent and as part of the province’s identity, while critics argue it has damaged Indonesia’s human rights reputation and inflicted lasting trauma on those forced to endure it.
In January, another woman collapsed after she and her partner were given a combined total of 140 lashes for drinking alcohol and having sex outside marriage. She had to be escorted to an ambulance after the public punishment.
Last year, two men were each given 76 lashes after being found guilty by a Sharia court of having sex.
Sharia law in Aceh was introduced in 2002, with further provisions added the following year.
Among the measures introduced in 2003 was a ban on a person being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is neither a spouse nor a relative.
In 2018, the province began consulting the public on whether it should introduce beheading as a punishment, although Indonesia’s central government warned such plans would not be permitted under national law.
