Turkish officials, led by President Recep Erdogan, have banned children from drawing a rainbow and hanging pictures on window panes as it is considered a worldwide LGBT+ conspiracy.
At the end of March, the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art invited children who are now unable to attend school due to COVID-19 quarantine to draw a rainbow and attach drawings to windows to show the “magic of nature” and “inspire hope” during a pandemic.
The rainbow has become a symbol of the fight against coronavirus in Italy and many other countries.
It is painted by both adults and children, exposed on balconies and windows and the challenge was picked up by the museum in Istanbul.
The rainbows angered radical Islamists in Turkey, as media outlets started blaming the LGBTQ community for supposed efforts to poison the youth.
The Turkish Education Ministry promptly reacted to save the kids from the tentacles of LGBTQ entrapment, telling schools not to be fooled by perverts and that the kids had to stop drawing rainbows because this challenge was a worldwide “LGBT conspiracy to turn children into gays.”
Middle-East news outlet Al-Monitor has noted that during the pandemic Turkish authorities have increasingly used homophobic rhetoric.
In April, Ali Erbash, head of the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, called same-sex love “evil.” And later he was supported by President Erdogan.
Many activists claim that homophobia and transphobia have increased with the coronavirus outbreak as many people regard the LGBTI community as carriers of the virus.
“Some of the commentators on mainstream and social media have stepped up their attacks on the LGBTI community during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Yildiz Tar, a member of Kaos GL, to Al-Monitor.
“This is hardly new, but it is particularly perturbing that this hate speech is repeated by officials who portray the LGBTI as the culprits, rather than victims, of the pandemic.
“I am concerned that this hate speech, which has intensified over these critical days, will continue after the pandemic, becoming a permanent fixture of the political rhetoric.”
