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As part of a crackdown on homosexuality, Saudi officials are taking rainbow-colored toys and clothing from stores in the capital, according to state television.
According to a programme carried Tuesday evening by the state-run Al-Ekhbariya news station, targeted items include rainbow-colored ribbons, skirts, caps, and pencil bags, most of which appear to be designed for young children.
“We’re offering a tour of the things that defy Islamic faith and public morals and promote homosexual colours to the younger generation,” says a representative from the trade ministry, which is involved in the campaign.
“The homosexuality flag is there in one of the Riyadh markets,” a journalist says, gesturing towards a rainbow flag.
In Saudi Arabia, where the rigid interpretation of Islamic sharia law serves as the foundation of the whole legal system, homosexuality is a potential capital offence.
The kingdom said in April that it had ordered Disney to remove “LGBTQ allusions” from the latest Marvel film, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but that Disney had refused.
The movie was never released in Saudi Arabian theatres.
A source close to Disney told AFP Tuesday that the latest Disney animation “Lightyear,” which involves a same-sex kiss, has been banned in Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries, though Riyadh has not commented on the film.
Stills from Benedict Cumberbatch in “Doctor Strange” and supposedly foreign children waving rainbow flags were also shown in the Al-Ekhbariya programme on Tuesday.
The article did not say how many businesses were targeted or what items were seized in the commerce ministry operation, and Saudi officials did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Wednesday.
