Teenager Suggests Headscarf Emoji To Represent Muslim Women

She did some research and was delighted to find anyone can submit new emoji concepts the non-profit.

Rayouf Alhumedhi, a 15-year-old teenage girl from Saudi Arabia, applauded this important progress, but felt it shouldn’t end there.

“- Women with cancer sometimes like to wear a headscarf; this emoji could come to hand. The high school student who now lives in Berlin is being backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and if the proposal is approved, a hijab emoji could make its way to messaging apps by 2017. If approved, it will be available on our phones as soon as 2017.

In an interview with BBC, Alhumedhi revealed that she and her friends, who often hang out in group chat, found out one day that there was no emoji that represented her, a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf. “Because with the massive [number] of women that wear the headscarf today, there should be at least one place on our keyboards reserved for them”.

The document highlights that not only Muslim women wear a headscarf and it serves as “an integral aspect of women’s lives” as it makes the case for the emoji’s inclusion.

“Might seem baffling, but when I wear the headscarf I actually feel liberated because I’m in control of what I want to cover”, she said.

Alhumedhi said the most hard part of the process was adjusting to attention.

Her proposal, which now has the support of one of Reddit’s co-founders, was promoted Tuesday afternoon in an “Ask me Anything” on the platform.

“- Or simply a woman that enjoys wearing a headscarf”. “Emojis are more impactful and utilized than ever before”.

While one Twitter user wrote: ‘Apple be making the most USELESS emoji updates but they still won’t have a hijab emoji? Same-sex couples and families became represented as Apple emojis in 2012 and 2015, respectively. However, this does not mean it should stop now.

Still, Alhumedhi is anticipating that not everyone will be on board with her idea. “That there could be something to represent them – that this image could be given to people all around the world – it’s wonderful and incredible if I could be the person to help do that”.