Saudi Arabian government officials have confiscated rainbow-colored children’s clothing and toys, alleging they “promote” homosexuality and harm “morality”.
The government officials checked shops in shopping centers and confiscated the corresponding goods, the Saudi Ministry of Commerce said on Twitter. The dealers were fined. Details were not given.
A reporter from the state television channel Al-Akhbariya accompanied some guards on their patrol. Colorful rainbow hair clips and backpacks for children, for example, were classified as problematic, as were a hat with a rainbow banderole or a T-shirt with a colorful rainbow motif. The colors could “promote” homosexuality among young people and therefore go against Islamic values and public morals, a warden said.
The colorful rainbow flag is seen in many parts of the world as a symbol of acceptance of a diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities. This includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people as well as people with other different identities.
In Saudi Arabia, Sharia law is interpreted particularly strictly. “Moral crimes” such as sex outside of marriage, abortion or witchcraft are sometimes subject to draconian punishments. Same-sex sex or the expression of transgender is just as punishable in the strictly conservative country. In the worst case, the death penalty threatens.
