The rainbow flag representing pride for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has recently been the center of controversy in two Gulf states.
On June 14, the Saudi state-owned television station Al Ekhbariya ran a report on rainbow-colored toys and their supposed connection to homosexuality. In the video, the presenter interviewed a Ministry of Commerce official in a children’s toy store in Riyadh. Speaking before a pile of toys featuring rainbow colors, the official said the toys “promote homosexuality in an indirect way.”