Why Brunei’s death-by-stoning law for gay sex has no place in 2019

Brunei, a small southeastern nation, is set to impose a strict Sharia law-style system that seeks to punish its LGBT community with death by stoning.

The statutes which will soon permit whipping, and amputation for homosexual acts, robbery and adultery, will come into effect under a series of reforms to the penal code next week, Brunei Darussalam authorities said following a similar announcement made by the sultanate’s attorney general last year.

The move has been on hold for five years amid heavy criticism and outcry by rights groups. Due to come into effect next Wednesday, it will see the tiny kingdom become the first nation in the region to impose the death penalty for those found engaging in same-sex intercourse.

Brunei: death penalty and LGBT laws

Brunei, an oil-rich country of 430,000 on the island of Borneo, never formally ruled out the death penalty after liberation from the British rule, although like Sri Lanka, it does not typically carry them out. The country’s stance on homosexuality never softened, however, entailing a 10-year sentence.

But the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, rules by absolute monarchy and is now going ahead with his deeply conservative vision of Islam, shelved in 2014 due to overseas business ventures. Once again, his sultanate risks facing global condemnation for introducing this medieval piece of legislation, which has no place in the 21st century.

Bolkiah had first introduced measures under the Sharia Penal Code in 2014, imposing fines or jail terms for offences such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Fridays. Dissent is rare in Brunei, where caning is used for immigration offences and the sale of alcohol is banned.

The law about to come into effect will apply to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, although some offenses, such as apostasy (conversion/renunciation of faith), apply specifically to Muslims, who make up about two-thirds of Brunei’s population. The “amputation for robbery” law would also be carried out on children.

Under the laws, a person can be convicted of adultery or gay sex only if there are multiple Muslim witnesses, according to NYT.

It only comes with the baggage perhaps, that Brunei’s example is being used once again to stoke Islamaphobia over social media.

Other instances of global outrage

Criminalisation of gay acts is upheld by law in many parts of the world, 71 countries to be precise, but the sporadic gay purge inevitably incites international protest.

After the Chechen government’s brutal crackdown on the country’s LGBT community, where a record number of homosexuals were detained in concentration camps this January, the need for international intervention has become more pronounced to avert such events in the future.

This brutality is inhumane and ancient, and it must be stopped. Stoning homosexual people to death, or any human being, has no place in the modern world. The international community must condemn Brunei for these atrocious human rights violations. https://t.co/LnQryoAa7V

— Humanists UK (@Humanists_UK) March 28, 2019

Brunei’s tourism industry, for one, is sure to take a hit, with investments by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, becoming ready targets of boycotts and calls for divestment. Hollywood actors George Clooney and Jaime Lee Curtis are calling for a boycott of 9 hotels with links to the nation.

In an update to its travel advice for Brunei, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said the new Shariah code “applies to Muslims, non-Muslim and foreigners even when on Brunei registered aircraft and vessels.” This move, therefore, can be extremely damaging to the country’s international reputation.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell opines, “Brunei is a member of the Commonwealth. This law is in violation of the equality and non-discrimination clauses of the Commonwealth Charter. The Secretary General must speak out against Brunei’s threat to LGBT human rights.”

Like Brunei…

Russian law enforcement authorities raided an LGBTI centre on March 28, a routine affair since 2013. Police stormed into the centre that provides advice to the LGBTI community, preventing lawyers, visitors and volunteers from leaving.

Russia’s antipathy towards homosexuality, which is legal on paper, has been well established following president’s Vladimir Putin ‘gay propaganda law’ which banned ‘information promoting the denial of traditional family values’ and ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations’.

The centre blames the recent upsurge in homophobic, biphobic and transphobic attacks on this law, which leaves LGBT couples unprotected from discrimination while gay rights activists continue to receive death threats, are interrogated, support groups for LGBT minors shut down across Russia.

In Tanzania, last October, governor Paul Makonda urged the people of Tanzania to report their LGBT+ relatives to police with plans to submit suspected gay men to forced anal examinations. British colonial era laws criminalise homosexuality in Tanzania; those found “guilty” may face life sentences in prison.

Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning in Mauritania, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. Gay men in Sudan can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth.

The anti-LGBT government of Nigeria is equipped to sentence those found engaging in same-sex intercourse up to 14 years in prison. According to a Pew survey, 97% of the population believe homosexuality should not be accepted.

In Saudi Arabia, homosexuals and transgenders are punishable by the death penalty, imprisonment, corporal punishment, whipping and chemical castration. The Yemeni government officially believes there is no gay population in the country; if found, flogging or death penalty follows. In the parts of Iraq run by ISIS until recently, LGBT individuals have faced death by stoning.

Unlike Brunei

Puerto Rico achieved where many progressive nations have failed so far; last week, it banned conversion therapy which tricks parents of LGBTQI minors into thinking that homosexuality can be shed like skin. A counter-productive practice that does the child more harm than good, it is still legal to force teenagers into such camps in countries like Canada.

Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rosselló who announced the ban on Wednesday, said in a statement, “I firmly believe that the idea that there are people in our society who need treatment because of their gender identity or whom they love is not only absurd, it is harmful to so many children and young adults who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.” 

Another brave and inclusive step is being taken by countries like Taiwan, Japan and Scotland, in introducing LGBT-friendly education and text material in schools. Nations are amending their education laws to make the learning environment more inclusive right from the start. Taiwan’s education ministry, for example, revised a 2004 law that promotes sexual orientation and gender identity education in the country’s schools.

Why this matters

In a statement, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a researcher for Amnesty International, said, “Brunei’s Penal Code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights. As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls,” she said according to the New York Times.

India’s LGBTQI community struggles with social acceptance and until recently, with legal ramifications. The historic repeal of the draconian Section 377 has pushed homosexuality into national conversation more than ever before. But even if the entertainment industry and civil institutions make up for decades of under-representation or misrepresentation, Indian policymakers hardly ever address issues like gays rights, protection from discrimination and of their interests.

A lot like US education secretary Betsy Devos, who dodged a question on whether she opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

The subtext is clear from the fact that even when homosexual intercourse is legal now, gay marriage is still not binding in court. So the next time a friend asks why don’t we have straight prides, tell them this is why.

Prarthana Mitra is a Staff Writer at Qrius

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