Qatar school bans 'Snow White' from library over sexual innuendos

Ban comes following parent's complaint the illustrations and text in the book are culturally inappropriate

Disney-based fairy tale story book 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs' has been removed from a school library in Qatar amid complaints that it is full of sexual innuendos.

‘Snow White and the seven dwarfs' is based on the story of a young woman who eats a poisonous apple and is later revived by a kiss from a handsome young prince.



A parent at the SEK International School Qatar voiced concerns that the illustrations and text in the book were culturally inappropriate, after which Qatar's Supreme Education Council (SEC) ordered its removal from the school's library.

"SEK International School Qatar is proud to be established in this country and presents its formal apologies for any offense that this unintended situation may have caused," the school's principal, Vivian Arif, said in an official statement. The principal quickly moved to ensure no child would ever read it there again.

Censorship of sexual or obscene content is not uncommon in Qatar, which recently banned all showings of "The Danish Girl," a British film that features a transgender protagonist, for supposedly depraved content.



Schools in Qatar must adhere to the rules set out by the SEC, which posted excerpts of SEK International School Qatar's apology on its Arabic Twitter account. According to its own website, the SEC aims to observe "international best practices, while preserving and taking into account the Islamic values and local traditions."

Many took to Twitter in shock over the lifting of the book from the school library.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ban challenges #Qatar's liberal narrative https://t.co/PRprkqIwaA via @dohanews

— Dr Sarina Theys (@sarinatheys) January 21, 2016

https://twitter.com/teymoornabili/status/690335433746583552

https://twitter.com/misscasfan/status/689874538973106178

https://twitter.com/pro2rat/status/687951950323699712

@annwitbrock @0xabad1dea guess we should ban Aladdin, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty too right? They have kissing, kids don't like that

— Fiora (@FioraAeterna) January 6, 2016

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post.