Politics & Government
Brunei’s Brutal Anti-Gay and Misogynist Laws Protested Today
Brunei, the tiny oil-saturated kingdom tucked onto the island of Borneo, recently adopted Sharia law with some gruesome modifications, including death by stoning for homosexual acts, and sentences of flogging and amputation for such lesser “crimes” as having an abortion. The outraged response in Europe and America has been swift and its targets include the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Bel-Air Hotel and other Dorchester Collection Properties, which are owned by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and the Brunei Investment Agency.
The Feminist Majority Foundation has pulled its annual Global Women’s Rights Awards, co-chaired by Jay and Mavis Leno, from the Beverly Hills Hotel and has launched a massive petition drive and social media campaign calling on the government of Brunei to immediately rescind the new code and asking the United Nations to take action if these laws go into effect as planned.
“We cannot hold a human rights and women’s rights event at a hotel whose owner would institute a penal code that fundamentally violates women’s rights and human rights,” said Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal in a statement.
Today, May 5, a rally will be held across from the Beverly Hills Hotel.
WHAT: Coalition of Women’s Rights, LGBT and Human Rights Groups Rally
WHEN: Monday May 5, 2014 Noon-1 p.m.
WHERE: In the Park across from the Beverly Hills Hotel — Sunset Boulevard between North Canon and North Beverly Drive
WHO:
Mavis Leno, Board member, Feminist Majority Foundation
Eleanor Smeal, president Feminist Majority Foundation
Andreas Meyer, President, Equality California EQCA
Lorri L. Jean, CEO Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
Dolores Huerta, president Dolores Huerta Foundation/co-founder United Farm Workers
Vince Wong, Vice Chair of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Betsy Butler, Candidate for California Senate
Ada Briceno, secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 11
Katherine Spillar, executive editor Ms. magazine
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
-
Latest NewsDecember 8, 2025This L.A. Museum Is Standing Up to Trump’s Whitewashing, Vowing to ‘Scrub Nothing’
-
Striking BackDecember 4, 2025Home Care Workers Are Losing Minimum Wage Protections — and Fighting Back
-
Dirty MoneyDecember 3, 2025Trump’s Anti-Climate Policies Are Driving Up Insurance Costs for Homeowners, Say Experts
-
Child FarmworkersDecember 5, 2025To Protect Underage Farmworkers, California Expands Oversight of Field Conditions
-
Column - State of InequalityDecember 4, 2025Can California Claw Back Some Medi-Cal Care?
-
Latest NewsDecember 10, 2025Capital & Main, L.A. Times Win Sidney Award for Reporting on Child Farmworkers
-
StrandedDecember 9, 2025Giving Up on the Dream: Asylum Seekers Try Other Options in Mexico
-
Locked OutDecember 16, 2025This Big L.A. Landlord Turned Away People Seeking Section 8 Housing