A children’s book showing two fathers and two mothers holding a baby has been withdrawn from a kindergarten’s library in Nicosia after a parent’s complaint.
The incident came to light this morning after the Cyprus Hunters’ Party issued an announcement saying that the book promotes what they perceive as “Western standards”.
Commenting on the book’s content the party said that “these images, first and foremost, insult the traditional institution of the family, all things normal, and refer to perverted people, who follow Western standards to the letter.”
Asked to comment on the matter, Director of Primary Education Marios Stylianides, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the book was donated to the kindergarten last year by its parents’ association.
“It appears that among these 50 books was the one in question, and from this September, the specific kindergarten initiated a lending library program allowing children to take some of these books home for a few days to read with their parents, etc. There was a complaint from a mother about this particular book, and the school withdrew it following these complaints,” he added.
Stylianides continued: “The Parents’ Association made a donation, but it seems the school did not thoroughly check the books to see if there was anything that could have been avoided. They distributed the book, and when there was a complaint, they removed it. However, schools have the right to either purchase or use such books, either by selecting from the catalogue approved by the Director of Primary Education, which is posted online, or from a catalogue approved by the teaching staff.”
He concluded: “There is nothing wrong here. The issue arises when certain books are chosen that cause controversy. It appears that this book was controversial. It has been withdrawn.”
In Cyprus, calls have been growing to advance equality after the Greek parliament voted to legalise same-sex civil marriage last week, becoming one of the first majority Christian Orthodox countries to do so.
