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embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan for the first time.Ī spokesperson for the State Department referred CNBC to the U.S. The pride flag was not flown at Western embassies in Saudi Arabia or Iraq, for instance, but a Twitter post commemorating Pride Month was posted earlier in June by the U.S. The source questioned why there weren't similar statements made by the embassies in every other Muslim country. Why rub it in our faces? Why choose us to do this to?" the official told CNBC, requesting their name be withheld due to the sensitivity of the matter. One member of the government, a senior Emirati official speaking anonymously, called the act "So strange." "The flag-flying. No comment has been made by the UAE in an official capacity, and the UAE's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. The topic remains highly taboo across the Middle East. And despite the UAE permitting its expat population to engage in many activities forbidden by the religion such as cohabitation, drinking alcohol, and eating pork, it is still a Muslim country whose local population is largely religious. Homosexuality is considered a sin in Islam. The British embassy did not reply to a CNBC request for comment.
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Looks like someone there is still living the long gone UK imperial days," Nasser Al-Shaikh, the former director of Dubai's finance department, wrote in a post on Twitter. "Very disrespectful from the British Embassy to the UAE & its people.
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Negative reactions to the posts were swift. Mission shows its support for the dignity and equality of all people." The Stonewall riots of 1969 are considered the birth of the gay rights movement. embassy posted a photo of its own flagpole flying the American and pride flags, and its Twitter account, published a tweet saying, "On the anniversary of Stonewall, a milestone in the American civil rights movement, the U.S. "Today, we are flying the rainbow flag to affirm our pride in the UK's diversity and our values of equality, inclusion and freedom," the post added, along with the hashtag " #Pride2021." mission to the UAE posted on Twitter on Monday. The Biden White House also reversed an order issued by Trump’s then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo on flying the pride flag at some US embassies, including in India and Australia, highlighting their support for LGBTQ people."June is #PrideMonth and around the world we celebrate the equality and visibility of #LGBT+ people," the U.K. Biden also reversed a ban on transgender people openly enlisting and serving in the military. On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under all federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex. “We are proud of them.”Ī 2015 RAND study found that 5.8 % of service members identified as either lesbian, gay or bisexual. “This in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people that (are from) the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department,” Kirby added. He said that the decision was made because it could open the door for other challenges to the rule set in place in July. “There won’t be an exception made this month for the pride flag,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.