Authorities in Saudi Arabia are seizing rainbow-coloured toys and clothes for children, claiming that these items promote homosexuality, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The seized items “contradict the Islamic faith and public morals, and promote homosexual colours targeting the younger generation”, an unidentified official said.
A video by state-run Al Ekhbariya news channel showed officials from the commerce ministry removing items such as hair clips, T-shirts and pencil cases from a shop in the capital city of Riyadh.
The ministry said on Twitter that its officials were seizing “products that contain symbols and signs calling for deviation and contradicting common sense”, according to the BBC. It also said that shops selling such products would face legal penalties.
Under Saudi Arabia’s interpretation of Islamic law, homosexual sex is punishable by death or flogging, depending on the case. The law also bars men from “behaving like women” or wearing women’s clothes and vice versa.
In April, cinema halls in the country did not screen the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as officials objected to “LGBTQ references”, according to AFP. Officials had reportedly objected to a scene in which a character spoke about her “two moms”.
Authorities had asked the producer, Disney, to cut out the reference. However, Disney had declined the requested edits.
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