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Indonesian masseuses told to lock their pants

Parlors want to make clear sex isn't offered, but some balk at implication

Image: Padlocked pants in Indonesia
A masseuse displays her padlocked trousers at a massage parlor in Batu, East Java, Indonesia, on Thursday.
Aman Rahman / AFP - Getty Images
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updated 12:15 p.m. ET April 10, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Massage parlors in an Indonesian town are asking their female workers to padlock their skirts and pants to make it clear they're offering only massages, not sex.

The move has been protested by the women's affairs minister of Indonesia, where massage parlors are often a front for prostitution. She said the padlocks insult women "as if they are the ones in the wrong."

At least one parlor in a tourist town on Java island has required its masseuses to padlock their skirts or trousers to make it clear the establishment does not tolerate prostitution.

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Others in the town started following suit after local officials met with massage parlor owners and suggested it's a good idea.

TV footage and photos have shown several masseuses with small padlocks in their zippers.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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