Human development is a phenomenon that only enriches with time. As the nations understand the needs of the people, the innate rights advance over time. However, there are some barbaric countries who instead of progressing towards betterment, take the opposite route. Brunei has proven itself to be one of those by implementing death by stoning and whipping as a punishment for gay sex and adultery.
Brunei is a small Asian country, thriving on oil exports. 2/3rd of the population in the country is Muslim and that is the law of the state; it is not a secular country. After years of adoption of conservative Islamic policies, Brunei adopted Sharia law in the year 2013. After which, strict corporal punishments were imposed. These include banning of alcohol and showy Christmas celebrations, imposition of fines and jail sentences for having children out wedlock and failing to pray on a Friday.
Though gay sex is forbidden since before Brunei got independence in 1984, but under the new law, corporal punishments will be imposed which includes whipping or death by stoning rather than a prison sentence of 10 years. Not just gay sex, capital punishment will also apply to adultery and rape. Moreover, the crime of theft will result in amputation of a hand and a foot. To be convicted for any of the crimes, it must be “witnessed by a group of Muslims”.
Incidentally, it so happens that the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, despite his so-called ‘austere religious beliefs and moral behaviour’, himself is involved in an immoral scandal. His brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah has indulged in flamboyant and un-Islamic lifestyle, which came to light in a series of court cases, involved a harem of foreign mistresses and the purchase of cars, erotic sculptures and a luxury yacht he called Tits.
Brunei’s draconian laws have lead to mass condemnation all over the world. Amnesty International, an international human rights group has urged Brunei to “immediately halt” implementing the penalties, which they said were “deeply flawed”. Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a Brunei researcher at Amnesty International, said, “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. To legalise such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Consensual sex between adults of the same gender should not be deemed a crime at all. . The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice”
The UK’s international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said: “No one should face the death penalty because of who they love. Brunei’s decision is barbaric and the UK stands with the LGBT community and those who defend their rights. LGBT rights are human rights.”
Outrage is evident in USA with actor George Clooney calling out to boycott the two of Los Angeles’ premier hotels, The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel, among 7 others all over the world, which are owned by Brunei. He stated, “Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery. Are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens? It’s up to each of us what we want to do.”
It is a welcome sight to see the mass protests regarding natural rights of a person. However, it is disheartening to see a mum response from India. The left-liberals, who are so keen to chide on individual rights and equality, condemning any tyrannies of the government, don’t have anything to say. These are the ones who have incorporated terms such as “Islamophobia” and create havoc every time some minority is perceived to be under threat. However, in a region where homosexuals are the minority, they are not entitled to the same “minority protection” as Muslims are entitled to, anywhere else in the world. In the Muslim dominated country of Brunei, it is just the implementation of their “religious law”, irrespective of the fact that it leads to atrocities against the citizens.
Currently, if viewed from a global perspective, homophobia is the most prominent form of atrocity against an individual, which is state-sanctioned. There are 72 countries all over the world which have criminalized gay sex. Punishment for a natural instinct is the most barbaric and cruel forms of compliance. Homosexuals are citizens, having human rights just as any other. State interference and imposing such death penalties for a personal choice like gay sex which doesn’t affect anyone is shameful. The freedom to choose a partner is a basic innate right and if a country denies that, it really doesn’t have anything much to offer.